Little Red
by Nobdy'sMelody
Summary: Derek brings in a new wolf to help Scott train. But she can teach Stiles something new, too.
1. Chapter 1

**So, my family is, like, obsessed with Teen Wolf...mostly Stiles. We think he's awesome. And weird. We figured it was kind of unfair he didn't have a love interest, so we decided to create one for him.**

**Oh, and we own nothing. Except Marie. She's ours.**

Scott's POV

Looking up to try and spot Allison in the stands, I noticed Derek, with his usually fierce, focused gaze, looking enraged. I quickly back peddled, checking myself for any signs of the wolf. My eyebrows furrowed under my helmet when I noticed none. I looked back up at him in time to see him huff and turn to the person next to him.

It was a young girl, about my age. Did she go to our school? I'd never seen her before. I would've remembered the bright dyed-red hair, having never seen it on anyone before. She was gabbing happily, going on and on, completely unaware of how angry Derek was getting. She gestured with her hands, flipping her hair over her shoulder. When Derek turned away, rubbing his temples like he had a headache, she pouted and starting poking his arm.

Using my "special werewolf bad-ass hearing," as Stiles called it, I focused in on their conversation.

"You don't like me talking so much?" she poked his arm. "You don't like me poking you?" She poked him again. "Whacha gonna do about it? Huh? Huh? Whacha gonna do about it?"

"Shut up," he hissed through his clenched teeth, grabbing her hand, squeezing her tiny fingers. She glared and her eyes burned amber.

"MCCALL!" Coach shouted. "GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!"

"Sorry, Coach!" I hated the way my voice trembled slightly. Who was that girl? Normal people's eyes don't glow yellow. Was she a wolf?

Stiles, chilling on the bench like the second-string player he is, must have noticed something in my voice or expression, because he turned in his seat and his eyes automatically found Derek and the new girl. He whipped back around to me, mouthing "what the hell?" I shrugged and got back into the game.

As usual, thanks to my "bad-ass werewolf powers," we won the game. Jackson was sulking in the locker room already, pissed he wasn't the star. Lydia had run after him. Allison was clinging to my arm, kissing my cheek over and over, as I received congratulatory slaps on the back.

Stiles hit my shoulder as Derek approached us. My smile dropped, coming don from my after-game high. I made an excuse to get away from Allison and the team, meeting Derek and the strange girl halfway. "What's up?" I questioned, my eyebrows once again drawing down over my eyes.

Derek's voice was low and quiet, as per usual, "You're going to meet us-"

"HI!" the girl interrupted, waving to us, smiling, oblivious to the tension in Derek's body. He took a deep breath as she grinned, letting it out slowly. He fished in his pocket for his keys:

"Here. Entertain yourself."

He shook them so they clanged together. She giggled, clapping lightly, before grabbing them and jingling them from her spot behind his back. The sound was a constant background to the next couple of minutes.

"Who's the girl?" Stiles inquired, nudging me from behind.

I rolled my eyes at him, but Derek glared. "We'll come to that later. You're going to meet us at my house. Okay?"

"Aren't the police searching around there?" I bit the inside of my lip.

Derek snorted, "Not anymore. They didn't find anything; there was never anything to find. We're meeting there. Get in your car and drive there. Now."

"Um," Stiles raised his hand, "I have this thing called a curfew. It's a new fad with parents; you might not have heard of it. But, the thing is, if I don't get home by a certain time, my dad grounds me, which means I don't get to go out anymore."

"What time do you have to be home by, little boy?" Derek sneered.

"Ten thirty," Stiles mumbled, sliding behind me, cowering under Derek's gaze.

"Then we have time. Get in your jeep."

I shrugged, grabbing my gym bag and slinging it over my shoulder, following Stiles to his car. He muttered angrily under his breath. I rolled my eyes as he put the keys in the ignition. He was such a child. "You know," he said as he pulled out of the parking lot, "it's weird that he knows which car is mine. Sometimes _I_ don't know which car is mine."

"He's like me, remember?" I snorted, "He's got bad-ass werewolf powers."

My best friend pouted, voice dripping sarcasm, "Oh, yeah. It's easy to forget, with how scary and intimidating and frickin' hazardous he is."

We pulled up into the clearing where the charred remains of Derek's house were. Derek and the girl were sitting on the hood of his car, talking quietly. "Who do you think she is?" Stiles looked at me as he unlocked the car door.

"I think the better question is _what_ is she," I stepped out of the jeep, my feet touching the hard earth.

"Glad you could make it," Derek stood.

"Yeah, I'm really glad we made it to the creepy burnt-down house, in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, where no one can hear our screams," Stiles shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt. "Did I mention this place gives me the creeps?"

The mystery girl giggled, bouncing on the hood of the car. "You both probably wondering why you're here," Derek ignored her.

"Yea-" i started, but Stiles cut me off.

"Not really." I stared at him. "What? It's obvious that you need help and Derek's the professional. It's like you're Harry Potter, and he's Dumbledore. You're Percy Jackson, and he's Chiron. You're Luke Skywalker, and he's Yoda."

The girl laughed louder before she lay against the wind shield of Derek's car, mumbling, "His Yoda, we will be."

"She gets it," Stiles shrugged.

I turned to Derek, ignoring my friend, "Um...who is she?"

"This," my Yoda gestured as the girl joined us at his side, "is my cousin, Marie. She's going to be helping you, Scott."

"How?" I stepped closer unconsciously.

"She's a wolf, too; she's my Uncle Peter's daughter. She's going to help you control your anger, control the wolf. She's helping me train you."

"I have a question," Stiles raised his hand once again. He grinned at her, "Is that your natural hair color?"

"No," she said, twirling a strand of the bright red hair around her finger. "I dyed it to match red velvet cupcakes. But it doesn't taste like red velvet cupcakes- it tastes like hair."

"Cute; it suits you."

"Yeah, we're all adorable," Derek growled. "Can we get back to the matter at hand?"

"It smells like strawberries, though," she smiled, once again obvious to Derek's tension. "Because Derek got me strawberry shampoo. It doesn't taste like strawberries, though."

"Like I was saying," Derek turned back to me, "she's going to help you train."

"How?" I snorted. "She seems kind of...out there. I mean, she's getting along with Stiles."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stiles looked to me, eyebrows raised.

"Nothing, Stiles. You're just...odd...sometimes...a lot..."

"Doesn't mean she can't help you train. I've been good, helping you train."

I huffed, turning to face him, rolling my eyes. "I love getting beat up; it's great training. Thanks."

"You don't need _him_ to help you train, Scott," Derek said.

Stiles sighed, hands flying out of his pockets. "Now, really, is that necessary?"

"Can we not fight?" the girl whimpered as Derek, Stiles, and I all began arguing, Derek coming forward, stiles backing up. "HEY!" she yelled over our voices and we all paused, staring over at her. "Elephants can't jump."

We stared at her in silence for a few minutes before she smiled, running over and grabbing my wrist, feeling my pulse. "See?" she giggled, "Now you're not angry!"

Derek smiled fondly, "She'll distract you. That's how she'll help."

I grinned, "Impressive."

"Very," Stiles nodded, lips curled in an appreciative smile.

"You," she turned to my best friend, "shouldn't fight with them. They're a lot stronger than you and you could get hurt."

Stiles pouted; he'd always hated being treated like a child. Maybe he should've stopped acting like one, then. Suddenly, his head snapped up as the Star Wars theme song started playing. I raised my eyebrows at him. "What?" he snapped, fumbling for his phone. He flipped it open and pressed it against his ear: "Yeah, Dad?"

"GENIM STILINSKY, WHERE THE GODDAMNED HELL ARE YOU?" the sheirff, otherwise know as Stile's dad, shouted loud enough for us all to hear.

Then again, we had bad-ass werewolf powers.

"Sorry, Dad. I'm on my way home right now. Yes, I'm in the car, on the way home. No, I am not lying! I'm not! Not your definition or mine! You don't trust me at all! God! Really? Are you kidding? Fine. Bye."

He shoved his phone into his pocket, "So, I'm grounded. Yeah, big shock, I know. So, I'm leaving. But, you all can stay here and be wolf-y."

"Bye!" Marie waved. He smiled gently and waved back, before turning to me:

"I guess you'll need to hitch a ride from Derek."

Derek shook his head. "No, we're done here. You can take him home. I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Yay," Stiles cheered sarcastically. We turned our backs on the werewolves and climbed into his jeep. We pulled away, driving down the dark road. "Okay, so , was it just me or was that girl hot?"

"Actually, Stiles, I think it was just you," I chuckled.

He shrugged and we drove home in silence. "See you at school?" I grinned as I climbed out of his death-trap of a car.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Nighty-night. Don't let the werewolves bite."

"Ha-ha," I rolled my eyes, "Not funny."

He shrugged and I closed the door. He drove off into the night, speeding just a bit faster than he should've.

**That's the end of chapter one. :) It's Derek's turn next. We'll update soon. **

**edited (7/12/11): Ohmigawd, sorry! There's a line from the Nickelodean show Victorious in here and we're so glad AdsurdAnimals pointed it out. We give the rights to the line to Nick. See if you can find it. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh, my dear Gosh.**

**We got so many alerts in less than an hour!**

**That's never happened before.**

**So, inspired as we are by the alerts and reviews, we decided to update sooner rather than later.**

**Hope you enjoy it.**

**Once again, we own nothing but Marie.**

Derek's POV

Marie hugged her stuffed turtle to her chest, babbling on and on about how much fun it was going to be to hang out with me and my friends.

"Yeah, they're not exactly my friends," I muttered, scowling as we drove aimlessly down the streets of our town.

She shrugged, smiling, "They seemed really nice."

"They're not."

"They're probably a lot of fun to hang out with. You guys probably have all sorts of fun adventures."

"We don't."

She twirled her _it looks like red velvet cupcakes and smells like strawberries but doesn't taste like either_ hair around her finger, staring at me, frowning, pouting, her big blue eyes piercing, staring through me into my soul. I felt like I should be wearing sunglasses to hide my eyes, the "windows to my soul."

"You're not happy."

"No, really? I wonder why. It couldn't be you blabbing on and on about Scott and Stiles and how great they are." My grip on the steering wheel tightened.

She sat in silence for a moment before she smiled at me sadly, "You've been alone for a bit too long."

"Not long enough."

We pulled up to the Animal Clinic, where Scott was leaning against the wall, waiting. "Get in," I ordered. He quickly scrambled into the backseat. "We're going to my place for training."

"Okay," Scott breathed.

Marie turned around in her seat and held out the turtle. "This is Luke. He's named after a Jedi Knight, but he's not a Jedi Knight; he's a turtle."

Scott reached out and patted the stuffed animal's head cautiously, "I can see that. It's nice to meet him...?"

She giggled and kissed Luke-the-turtle-not-the-Jedi's head. "He says its nice to meet you, too."

I snorted, a small smile pulling at my lips.

As we pulled into the clearing, I slammed on the breaks, almost crashing into the white jeep that was parked a bit too close to the entrance. "What the hell?" I watched Stiles jump off the hood of his car.

"Why would you park so close to the only entrance to the damn clearing?" I growled as I climbed out of my car. "What are you, some new kind of stupid?"

He backed up as I advanced. "Hey, it's all good. No harm, no foul."

"That's what I thought," I sneered as Marie and Scott climbed out. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't allowed out."

"Dad thinks I'm studying with Scott, which he thinks will bring my grades up, because he obviously doesn't know Scott at all." Stiles chuckled. "Either way, I am kind of studying with Scott..."

I glowered, "We don't need your help. You can't do anything-"

"This is Luke," Marie put her beloved turtle in Stiles' hands. "He's named after a Jedi Knight, but he's a turtle, not a Jedi Knight." She watched him for a reaction.

He smiled, petting the turtle's head like it was a precious pet, "He's cute. You two suit each other nicely."

Marie smiled, taking the toy back, hugging it to her, and sat on the white hood of Stiles' jeep. I frowned as the only human here leaned against the side of his jeep, too close to my cousin for my comfort. "Here's the plan, you little suck. You're going to sit back and do nothing like the useless human you are while we do all the work."

Stiles rolled his eyes and scoffed, pulling the hood of his red sweatshirt over his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Fine," he muttered, leaning more heavily against his jeep.

Scott sighed, "Stiles, it'll be fine."

"Right. So you stay here and watch the big boys train."

"Do I get to help?" Marie questioned, staring into my eyes, and, once again, I wanted sunglasses.

I looked away, "No; you stay here and watch Little Red Riding Hood."

"Oh, I loved that movie," Stiles exclaimed. "It was so suspenseful. And you would've never guessed who the wolf was. Spoiler Alert: it was the dad."

Scott ran a hand through his hair, "Dude, really? Could you be more embarrassing?"

"It was a good movie! And, yes, in fact, I can. Want me to try? I can sing all the songs from High School Musical. I can sing them right now. _We're all in this together-_!"

"I get it! Stop!" Scott covered his face. "I need a new friend."

I turned and began to trudge away, Scott following behind. "No, please, come back!" Stiles called dramatically, in a fake- hysterical voice. "Come back! You're my only friend!"

"The sad part is, it's true," I muttered.

"I'll be your friend!" Marie hopped off the hood and tugged on Stiles' arm.

"Ha, look at that," Stiles grinned at us. "I made a new friend. Can you say that, Scott? Huh? Can you? No, didn't think so. I have more friends than you."

"But I have a girlfriend," Scott smirked.

I glared at him, "Who you're supposed to be avoiding."

"I'm _trying_," Scott whined. I rolled my eyes.

"Let's go," I grabbed the back of his sweatshirt like he was a pup and dragged him behind the house, into the woods. "Ready for training?"

**sorry its short, but this is more of a filler chapter. Next is most likely Stiles' POV. Tell us what you think. We've gotten so many alerts and the like in just a few hours. Thank you all! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello.**

**We're back with the 3rd installment.**

**11 reviews, over 20 alerts; this isn't even real. I've never gotten that much on one story in such a short amount of time. Thanks so much.**

**New episode's on tonight, guys. 10o'clock, MTV. I didn't watch it. Was it any good?**

**We only own Marie. **

**I've drawn a picture of her. I'll try to post it on here somehow.**

Stiles POV

I hoisted myself onto the hood of my jeep, relaxing against the windshield, folding my hands behind my head. I stared up at the sky, watching the clouds, finding shapes. It was silent, completely silent except for the sounds of the wilderness around us.

I heard the sound of her clothes moving as she rested beside me, against my windshield, silent, and we stared up at the clouds together, not moving, not talking. We're quiet; I could barely hear our breath, even though I could hear all of the bugs and animals and nature surrounding the charred remains of Derek's home.

She shifted- I felt it rather than seeing or hearing it. Her hands folded over her stomach in that way girls tend to have, like they hold themselves together, like they relax, just by resting their hands against the center of themselves. I wondered if this was some kind of instinct all girls inherit, this peace from their abdomen, and I decided that it might be because that is where they cradle a new life.

"You're not supposed to be here," she whispered, afraid of breaking the silence. I turned my head, _goodbye clouds, _and looked at her.

"Yeah. I'm grounded."

She picked up the turtle that I realized had been resting between us and hugged it close, looking like a little girl, "Why did your dad ground you?"

"Because he's a jerk."

"You don't get along?" she looked at me with piercing blue eyes, eyes that seemed to lay me bare and stare into my very being. I shrugged.

"It's not that we don't get along He's just over-protective and it's annoying. I know he's trying to act the part of a mother and a father, but he can't, you know? And I'm always grounded and stuff because I get in trouble for not paying attention in school or for not doing well in school or being in the wrong place at the wrong time." I looked back at the clouds, spotting a pirate ship. "I know he loves me, and the feeling's mutual, but sometimes...sometimes i just really hate him."

Her eyes searched my face, "Why?"

"Because I'm never really good enough. I never live up to his expectations of what I should be doing and who I should be."

If it had been Scott I'd been speaking to, he'd have said something like _oh, you've got issues? I'm a freakin' werewolf!_ even though we both know that, on some level, he loves being a bad-ass mythical creature and that it got him a girlfriend and a spot on first-string.

If it had been Derek I'd been talking to, as if I would ever spill my soul to him, he would've said something like _stop whining, little boy. Man up and deal with it._ or _go complain to someone else _because he doesn't like me at all and I don't think that will be changing anytime soon.

But this wasn't Scott or Derek. This was someone new, someone who was open, who gave me a clean slate. This was Marie, the pretty new werewolf with red-velvet hair and ice-cube eyes.

And she smiled sadly at me, her fingers brushing mine softly, not enough to be called hand-holding, but enough to qualify as a gentle, reassuring touch. "That's so sad," she pouted cutely. "I couldn't imagine what it feels like."

The corner of my mouth lifted slightly."I guess it's not too bad. What's your dad like?"

"My daddy's in the hospital," she told me and my heart dropped into my stomach. "He was hurt in the fire, really bad, and Derek says he doesn't respond. I hate to think that if I were to visit him-" her voice trembled "-he wouldn't look at me or talk to me, would hardly recognize me. Truthfully...he's probably better off dead."

I turned to look at her and saw a single crystal tear make its way down her cheek. "Hey, it's okay," I sighed, reaching over and brushing it away. My thumb ran over a bumpy ridge and my eyes widened slightly. I ran my finger under her eye again.

The feel of her scar under my thumb was enticing, fascinating. The faded scar had to be old; I couldn't see the line that ran underneath her eyes, couldn't see the what felt like disfiguring tissue under her eye that I could feel under the pad of my thumb. Another tears slid down her cheek; I caught it and smiled at her.

"Don't cry."

That sounds all sweet and charming, like I'm some knight on a white horse or maybe Westley from _The Princess Bride_, but, really, I wasn't at all smooth. Most because, right after, I crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue in a lame attempt to cheer her up.

In case you were wondering, it worked.

She smiled softly, giggling, cheeks flushing a petal pink, not quite as dark as the pink of strawberries that, now that I was close enough to her to breathe in her scent, she really did smell like.

"You're weird," she stated, "we should hang out."

I nodded eagerly in agreement.

I realized how close we were to each other when Derek and Scott emerged from the woods and the scary werewolf shouted, "What the hell are you doing?" He was by us in an instant, grabbing the back of my shirt and pulling me off the hood of my jeep. "Get away from her!"

I cried out in surprise when my feet hit the ground and my back hit the door to my car and my head smacked the window. "Ow," I moaned, coming to terms with the fact that Derek, a frightening and strong werewolf, had me pinned against my car with no way of escape. He looked furious.

"What were you doing to her?"

"I-I-"

"Derek," Scott tried.

Marie jumped off the hood, landing daintily on her feet, "Derek, he didn't do anything to me."

"You were crying." He looked to her, her smudged makeup.

"I was talking about Daddy," she whimpered. "He was only trying to cheer me up. I wouldn't stand up for him if he hurt me."

I chuckled lightly, "And she could probably kick my ass all on her own, so..."

Derek let go of me, but stared at me in such a way that it was clear that he didn't trust me- not around her. It was a silent understanding that passed between us, that things would never, ever be chill between us, not a chance anymore, because he was going to protect her, keep her safe from any threat, and, suddenly, I was a threat.

I nodded. _Understood._

**Did you like it, our dear readers? Did it live up to your standards, your expectations.**

**In case anyone was wondering, Marie is the same age as Stiles and Scott (almost wrote Scoot there for a moment), she just acts really young. **


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so super excited that everyone likes this story!**

**Since it has come up a lot, I'm going to clear something up: Marie is a mixture of a couple characters- she has the eyes of Thalia from Percy Jackson, the hair from Cat from Victorious, and my personality.**

**Enjoy.**

**We only own Marie. **

**I've drawn a picture of her. I'll try to post it on here somehow.**

Allison POV

"Yeah, and-" I stopped, frowning. "Scott, are you even listening to me?"

He nodded, staring off, scanning the cafeteria. "Yeah, I am. I'm just looking for a friend." He jumped suddenly as hands slammed down on his shoulders. He spun around in his chair, glaring at Stiles, who was falling over himself in laughter. There was a girl behind him, giggling into her palm.

They slid in across from us. "You should've seen your face, Scott."

"That wasn't funny. I was looking for you guys."

"Hi," the girl smiled at me. I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Scott who nodded encouragingly. I smiled back and waved.

"Marie," Scott leaned forward, his elbows on the table, "This is my girlfriend, Allison."

"Nice to meet you," she wiggled her fingers in my direction. "But, Scott, aren't you supposed to be av-"

Stiles picked a pizza roll off her plate and stuffed it in her open mouth, silencing her. "As amusing as this conversation would be, I think we'll pause it there," he grinned at her. She nodded in understanding, chewing happily on the pizza roll.

"Allison," Scott turned to me, gesturing to the redheaded girl, "this is my friend, Marie. She's new here."

The girl- Marie -wasn't paying attention to our conversation. She was watching Stiles stuff food into his mouth as if he would never eat again. She looked back to us with a raised eyebrow and an amused smile. "Is that normal?"

"For Stiles?" Scott chuckled. "Yes."

Said boy looked up from his tray of food and stuck his tongue out at his best friend, giving us all a good look at his half-chewed lunch. "Ew," Lydia wrinkled her nose as she sat down beside me, "put that away. No one here is fond of see-food."

Once Stiles' tongue was back in his mouth and all of Lydia's friends were situated at the table, people stared to notice the new head. and how could they not? It wasn't every day you saw someone with that hair color.

"Who are you?" Lydia asked in a tone that asked it's own question: _did I say you could sit here?_

"My name's Marie," the redhead smiled.

"Why are you sitting with us?" _Does it look like I want you here?_

"She's our friend," I told Lydia, giving her a tight-lipped smile. "She's new here and she's sitting with us. She and Scott go way back."

Okay, so the last part was a lie, but who needed to know?

I hit Scott under the table and he instantly started nodding. "Yeah, she's an old friend, but she's just moved back here."

"Oh," now Lydia smiled in a faux-welcoming way, "okay. That explains why I haven't seen you around. I mean, how could you forget such a pretty face? I'm Lydia."

Marie was smiling, totally oblivious to how fake Lydia was being. "It's nice to meet you."

"You know," Lydia said, "Allison and I are going to the mall later. You should come."

We finished lunch pretty much the same way we always do, everyone chatting and gabbing and gossiping. Marie looked slightly overwhelmed by all of the new information she was acquiring about people she'd never met. My only thought was that she'd better get used to it because that's all our crowd did.

* * *

><p>"The world of our little high school," my best friend explained, hooking her left arm through the new girl's and her right through mine, "centers around lacrosse. If you're good at it, you're famous. You're then entitled to either a romantic partner- I say partner because I can't say girlfriend because Danny, our goalie, is gay -and a friend or two friends joining the group of celebrities."<p>

Marie nodded hesitantly, "Okay?"

"My boyfriend, Jackson, is a star player, first-string," Lydia bragged. "Therefore, I'm on the inside. Allison is our extra friend. She's also Scott's romantic partner, so she counts as both. But now that you've joined the circle, she only counts as Jackson's extra friend, even though she's still dating Scott."

Again: "Okay?"

"You are now in place as Scott's second friend. So, bi-otch, as long as Scott keeps playing well, you can keep hanging out with us." This was said with affection to make the realization- of that fact that if Scott sucks, it means she's out- softer.

Marie tilted her head to the side. "What about Stiles?"

"Scott is the only reason that Stiles kid is allowed to hang with us. Scott's first-string and talented, so Stiles is his extra friend. On his own, that boy wouldn't make it- he's second-string, all he does is warm the bench at games, and he's such a weirdo. So despite the fact that Danny thinks he's, quote-unquote, _okay-looking_, without Scott, Stiles would be nothing."

"That seems rather harsh," Marie admitted. I silently agreed. "And I don't think Stiles is weird. I think he's really cool."

Lydia stopped, jolting us all to a halt. She turned, open-mouthed, to look at Marie. "Ohmigod," she breathed, "you're totally crushing on him."

"Excuse me?" Marie's bright hair rippled as she tilted her head.

Lydia was smirking. "You totally like him. Look, Allison," she turned to me for back-up, "she's blushing. She's so into him." She whipped back around to face Marie, her blonde curls smacking me in the face. "Why would you be into _him_?"

"I never said I was," Marie flicked her hair back over her shoulder. "You assumed. My cousin says you shouldn't assume because it makes an A-word out of you and me."

I raised an eyebrow at her, "You mean an _ass_? Why didn't you just say it?"

"It's a bad word." Marie's eyes were wide, like _why would I say something bad like that?_

"Okay, either way," Lydia re-directed the conversation, "You totally like him- I know a crush when I see one. But now I want to know why anyone would like him. I mean, he's _second-string_," she said this like someone would say _prostitute_, "and he's weird. He's all Star Wars-nerdy and into things that don't exist. And did you see him at lunch, the whole see-food thing? Urgh."

"I think it's a good thing that he's not afraid to be himself and do what he wants to just because of what other people think," Marie looked up, raising her chin, staring Lydia down with a smile. "The world needs more people like that."

I silently agreed. "Anyway, I never said I liked him," Marie continued as we started walking again. "I just admire that he's himself. Like I admire Scott for being talented."

"And I admire Jackson for being star-player," I added, playing up Lydia's ego. If Jackson was a star, Lydia was a star. To say Jackson was cool was to say Lydia was cool. To say Jackson was handsome was to say Lydia was beautiful. To say you admired Jackson was to say you admired Lydia.

"And like I admire you two for being such _dolls!_" Lydia grinned, feeling in-charge again. We walked past a candy store, both Lydia and I ignoring it- _hello, zits and calories_ -but Marie swivelled her head to gape happily:

"Ooh, candy!"

Things were certainly getting interesting.

**That's it for now, readers. I'm tired and not feeling my best- **_**urgh, headaches**_** -so I'll leave it here for now: with the three girls "getting along" and "becoming friends." Yeah, air-quotes, because Lydia gives me a bad feeling, like she'd back-stab you as soon as see you.**

**Anyway, I hope it lived up to your standards, even if it was more of a filler, I guess.**

**Reviews are love. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Ohmigawd.**

**I am so sorry this is late. Well, kind of. It's late to me, because I expected to update Monday, but, alas, I did not. I had some stuff going on. And thanks a super bunch for all the reviews and alerts. : )**

**Anywho, here's the next chapter. We own nothing but Marie.**

Marie POV

"Oh, pleeease," I begged, resisting the pull of Lydia's arm. "I'll just look. I won't even buy anything."

"Just let her go in, Lydia," Allison sighed.

"Fine."

I cheered- "YAY!" -and skipped into the candy shop. My mouth watered. The huge lollipops that are swirled different colors, the kind they sell at Sesame Place, were high up on a spinning rack. Jars of M&Ms were lined up against one wall. A barrel of soft butter mints stood proudly next to the register. Bags of Peach Rings hung off hooks, waiting to be picked like apples from trees. Rock Candy and Peppermint Sticks stuck out of jelly-bean-filled jars.

It was a new kind of paradise.

"Ew," Lydia was groaning from somewhere behind me. "Do you know how bad this stuff is for you? I feel like I'll break out just by breathing this air."

I wasn't listening; I was too busy staring into the glass case that separated me from fudge, toffee, and peanut butter cups. I whimpered longingly, too close to the sound of a lonely pup for my liking.

"If you want something, just slip it into your pocket already so we can leave," Lydia hissed in my ear. I frowned at her and her sudden Oscar-The-Grouch attitude.

"You mean, like, steal?" I raised my eyebrows. "I don't do that."

My new friend rolled her eyes and scoffed: "Right, I forgot- you're a _good girl._"

She strolled away, opting to stand outside the store, the perfect image of a pouting teenager, and Allison appeared beside me. "Don't let Lydia get to you. She can be bitchy, but you should just brush it off. That's just how she is and it won't change."

I shrugged and went to turn back to the display of beautiful sweets when I smacked into someone. I stumbled slightly backward and they reached for me with their candy-laden arms. Before I knew it, we had tumbled and crashed into one of the displays, successfully knocking it- and ourselves -over, crushing and breaking most of the candy. Everyone in the store stopped to stare, and I glanced up at the person on top of me.

"Hi, Stiles."

"Fancy meeting you here," he grinned.

"You," the shopkeeper came from behind the register, pointing at us, his thick, angry accent, "you clean this up. You clean this up and pay."

Stiles scrambled to his feet, chuckling in an embarrassed-sort-of way, "Listen, man, I can't pay for this. I kind of don't have any money."

"You break, you buy," the man pointed to a sign against the wall.

"Okay," Stiles rolled his eyes and fished in his pockets for his wallet. "I've got...five dollars. I'll give you five dollars for all of this."

"Much more than five dollars," the shopkeeper insisted. He turned to me, raising his eyebrows. "You can buy what you broke?"

I shook my head, realizing I was still on the ground. But, wasn't this a kind of fantasy, to be sitting on a mountain of candy- in trouble or not? "I- I... I don't have any money."

"Pay!" the man insisted.

"How about we just go?" I tugged on Stiles' arm, pulling him towards the door. We backed away, the man only realizing this when the bell above the door tinkled. He turned to us, eyes wide.

"Thieves!" the shopkeeper yelled after us, pointing at us as we ran. The security guards- are they called that? Or are they mall cops? Oh, like the movie _Paul Blart: Mall Cop_! Ha-ha, that was a good movie -chased after us.

Stiles grabbed my hand, tugging me along through the crowd of people. Down a flight of stairs, through JC Penny's, up an escalator, through a music store, past a Starbucks- ooh, coffee -and, finally, into Forever21, where we found refuge in a dressing room, behind the yellow curtain.

We panted for a moment, cramped together in the claustrophobic space. Then, glancing at each other, we broke into quiet giggles. Someone walked by and he put his finger to his smiling lips as I rapidly "shhh"-ed him. The tall red heels stopped out side our dressing room.

The sales associate pulled back the curtain with a sneer: "One person per dressing room, please."

"Yeah, just give us one sec," Stiles reached forward and yanked the curtain back. The lady sighed and gave up, perfectly content to go back to her boring job, her heels click-clacking away.

We breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief, then caught each other's eye and giggled again. "That was close," Stiles chuckled.

The curtain was pulled away again; Stiles opened his mouth to tell the salesgirl off, but stopped short, mouth gaping like a fish out of water. A hand came up to his hair as he greeted the officer with a "hi, Dad."

Stiles' dad was not happy, obviously. You could tell by the look on his face. Or maybe that was always the look on his face- maybe he wasn't a smiley kind of guy. Maybe he was more frown-y.

"One person to a dressing room, please," the snooty sales lady click-clacked by behind Stiles' dad.

The officer sighed, "Stiles, do I want to know what the hell happened here?"

"That depends on your view of what happened here."

The man's hand came up to his hair much like Stiles' did in awkward situations. "I view what happened here as you being one of the 'thieves' from the candy store and having half the mall security chase you around in some kind of extreme game of Hide-and-Go-Seek-Tag."

Stiles nodded slowly, "That's...exactly what happened here. Good thing we're on the same page for once, eh?"

I smiled, but his dad didn't.

"Don't be a smart-ass." He turned to me and furrowed his eyebrows. "Who are you?"

"Hi!" I grinned, waving. "I'm Marie."

"And what do you have to do with this?"

"Well," I twirled a strand of my hair around my fingers, staring at the color and loving it like it was brand new. "Stiles and I knocked over the candy display and the guy started yelling at us that we had to pay! But neither of us had any money, so we ran! But then the mall cops started chasing us- and they weren't even on Segways like Paul Blart! And then we hid here and you found us and you were all _frown-y face!_"

The officer's frown deepened.

Imitating his facial expression, I tried to lower my voice to sound like The Joker: "_Why so serious_?"

He blinked, staring at me. Then:

"Will you be needing a ride home?"

I shook my head, "No, I came here with- oh, no! Lydia and Allison! They have no idea where I am! I have no idea where they are! Lydia's my ride! Oh, no, what if they think I've left and they left without me?"

"Do you have anyone else you can call?" the officer asked me, placing his hand on my shoulder as we all left the clothing store.

I shook my head. "I don't have any one's number."

"I'll drive you home," Stiles offered. I smiled, nodded.

"And, then," the officer, whose badge I now realized read _sheriff_, growled, "you will come back here and pay for the candy store damages with your future allowance. Then, we'll go home and you'll explain to me why you were at the mall at all while you're supposed to be grounded."

Stiles cringed, but nodded.

We parted ways with his father and climbed into his white jeep. He fiddled with the radio knobs. a wolf's howl broke through the speakers.

_Who's that I see walkin' in these woods?_

_Why it's Little Red Ridin' Hood_

_Hey there Little Red Riding Hood_

_You sure are lookin' good_

_You're everything a big bad wolf would want_

_Listen to me_

I looked to him with an amused smile. Another howl came through the speakers. He grinned, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

_Little Red Ridin' Hood_

_I don't think even big girls should_

_Go walkin' in these spooky old woods alone_

Another howl. I wondered if he played this song on purpose.

_What big eyes you have_

_The kind of eyes that drive wolves mad_

_So, just to see that you don't get chased_

_I think I ought to walk with you for a way_

_What full lips you have_

_They're sure to lure someone bad_

_So, until you get to grandma's place_

_I think you ought to walk with me and be safe_

I laughed as we sped through the woods, closer and closer to the charred remains of the Hale house.

_I'm gonna keep my sheep suit on_

_Till I'm sure that you've been shown_

_That I can be trusted walkin' with you alone_

Another howl.

_Little Red Ridin' Hood_

_I'd like to hold you if I could_

_But you might think I'm a big bad wolf, so I won't_

We rounded a rough corner as another howl rang through the speakers. I slid to the side slightly. Stiles threw his arm around my shoulders to steady me.

_What a big heart I have_

_The better to love you with_

_Little Red Ridin' Hood_

_Even bad wolves can be good_

_I'll try to be satisfied_

_Just to walk close by your side_

_Maybe you'll see things my way_

_Before we get to grandma's place_

_Little Red Ridin' Hood_

_You sure are lookin' good_

_You're everything a big bad wolf could want_

We pulled into the clearing; another howl ripped its way through the speakers. Stiles mimicked the howl, throwing his head back against the seat. I laughed, leaning into him. He slammed on the brakes when he focused back on the clearing and I quickly saw why- Derek was standing inches from the hood.

Once the car had stopped, my cousin came around to my side of the car and yanked the door open. His big hands grabbed my waist and he hoisted me out of the vehicle.

"Where were you?" he growled into my ear before he threw me over his shoulder and carried me to the charred porch, dropping me down. "Stay here." I obeyed, looking down at my knees like a kicked puppy.

"Why the hell did you have her with you?" Derek stomped over to Stiles.

The next song started playing out of Stiles' car as he backed up against the white door. "She needed a ride home from the mall!"

"The mall? Why was she at the mall?" He spun around to face me. "Why were you at the mall? I was supposed to pick you up from school, remember? I waited at the goddamn school for an hour. I was going crazy because I was so frickin' worried something happened to you."

I whimpered at his outburst, pouting. "I made new friends and they wanted to go to the mall. And then I lost them and ran into Stiles, who was nice enough to bring me home."

Derek turned back to Stiles, who flinched when my cousin reached out and straightened his sweatshirt. "Thanks for bringing her home," his voice was strained, as if it pained him to thank Stiles.

"Your welcome. I should go home and see my dad now." Stiles nodded to me. "See you tomorrow at school?"

I looked to Derek, who sighed his consent, and nodded, smiling, "You bet."

When we could no longer see the back of the jeep, Derek sat beside me. I rested my head against his bicep, looping my arm through his. He didn't shrug me off, which I took as a good sign. We sat in silence, watching the sun set, the different colors playing across the clearing, bathing it in gold light.

**Well, that's it for now, folks. I hope you all liked it. I worked hard to try and make sure you did, so let me know what you thought.**

**The song Stiles plays in his car is "Lil Red Riding Hood." The version I had in mind is by Bowling For Soup, so I give them credit.**

**Reviews are love: )**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ohmigawd. **

**We've passed 50 reviews! Oh, thank you **_**so **_**much! Its insane! **

**Okay, so has anyone watched Dylan O'Brien on Youtube? Like, these hilarious videos he has? They're all, like, older, like, 2009 and back, but he's so funny. I've been watching them all morning. Go watch them.**

**Anywho, here's the next chapter. We own nothing but Marie.**

Stiles POV

My body tensed. My chest was shoved against the cold metal of my gym locker in the locker room. My heart beat rapidly. Why did I tell Scott to go on ahead? I should've known that being alone was dangerous, what with the scent of three werewolves all around me. Was it the Alpha?

"I have things to do today," a voice- _Derek_, I registered -growled into my ear. "You and Scott are going to take Marie with you and watch her until I get back."

I pushed back, shrugging my shoulders. He released me, stepping back slightly. That guy had no respect for personal space. _Oh, good. He's being courteous. _"Why?" Not that I had many objections to the arrangement.

"Having a child like her around is a full-time occupation." I once again noted how frickin' scary Derek Hale could be. "But, as of today, I have things to do and I need you to watch her."

"What kind of things?" Why the hell was I pushing his buttons?

His eyes narrowed. "_Things,_" he growled.

"Good explanation."

"Just watch her, okay? Go somewhere- take her bowling, out for pizza, to the mall, to your house- I don't care. Just make sure she's safe. She needs to be protected."

I nodded, rolling my eyes, turning my back on him and tugging my not-so-sweaty-because-I-sit-on-the-bench lacrosse jersey over my head. He continued to stand there, staring me down. "You mind? I like a bit of privacy when I strip."

"Don't worry- I'm not your goaltender; I have no interest in your body. All I want from you is your word that you will try your best to keep her safe while I'm away," he snarled. _Man, this guy should be on happy pills._

I nodded again, shoving my _I don't even need to wash this because I sit on the bench and do no physical activity what-so-ever _jersey into my bag. "My word, you have," I tried my best Yoda voice. I smirked, turning to him. "And, don't worry- you don't have to pretend. I know you can't resist-" here I began to wriggle my hips and gesture slowly up and down my body "-_all of this_."

His glared hardened. I stopped immediately, turning back to stare into the dark abyss that was my locker. When I spun my body back around, he was gone.

Rolling my eyes- _damn bad-ass werewolves _-I shouldered my bag and exited the locker room via side door. Outside, I scanned the area for Scott, who, of course, didn't wait for his best friend. Instead, I saw Marie and Jackson leaning against the bleachers.

I approached, throwing my arms out wide, spinning a little for decoration, "Marie, darling, looks like I'm all yours this afternoon!"

"Yay!" she cheered, clapping her hands together.

"To my noble steed?" I held out my arm in a gentlemanly manner.

"To your rusty death-trap is more like it," Jackson scoffed.

Marie frowned. "Jackson, don't be mean." She touched his arm, her smile returning. "I was nice talking to you."

He grabbed her elbow and pulled her to him, whispering something in her ear, something that made her blush and squirm away, out of his grip. My eyebrows furrowed.

Once she was out of his grip, we nodded our goodbyes and Marie and I strolled away in comfortable silence. I glanced over my shoulder at Jackson, who was watching us with interest, and, like the mature adult I was, I stuck my tongue out at him.

Scott was waiting in my car.

On his orders- _yes, Batman_ -we drove to his house where his mom- sweet lady -was waiting. She welcomed us with a smile, a kiss on the cheek for both her boys- because, really, the lady is practically a mother to me -and a wary grin at the new girl. "And who is this?"

"Oh," Scott paused from shoving a slice of cold pizza in his mouth, "this is Marie."

"That's Marie," I echoed, taking a warm cookie off the plate on the counter. I breathed in deep, reveling in the aroma of sweet, warm chocolate.

"Hi," the redhead smiled.

"You're the girl Scott's seeing?"

"No," from Scott.

"No," from me.

"Oh, no," from Marie.

I looked over to the small girl. Her insanely blue eyes were wide and she was shaking her head, fast. "Mom," Scott corrected, "my girlfriend's name is Allison."

"Right, right, sorry," his mom took the plate of cookies away from me, stopping me from shoving a fourth down my throat. She smiled and offered one to Marie, who thanked her and savored every bite of the treat.

"So are you new here? I haven't seen you before."

"Yeah," Marie beamed, sitting across from the woman at the kitchen table. "I just moved here, actually. I'm staying with my cousin for a bit."

A polite smile from Scott's mom: "Who's your cousin?"

Marie looked to me, like _should I tell her the truth_? I shrugged back, like _what the hell do I know? Go ahead._ "Uh, Derek Hale."

"Oh, that boy; Didn't your dad take him in for questioning when they found that dead body in the woods, Stiles? He seems like a bit of trouble."

"He is, I guess. But he's loyal and smart and he can be fun."

I smirked, "You just described a Golden Lab." Scott and I snickered into our after-school apple juice. Marie rolled her eyes, hitting my arm playfully.

"You all seem to be getting along great," Melissa- that's his mom -grinned at him, like she knew something I didn't. I raised my eyebrows, widening my brown eyes, like _what? Why are you looking at me_?

"Of course we are," Marie ran a hand through her bright hair. "Scott and Stiles are such sweet boys. Especially compared to some of the other boys at school, like Jackson."

"Jackson Whittemore? I always thought he was such a good boy. Everybody in town loves him." I rolled my eyes.

Marie shrugged, "Yeah, I guess they do...but he can be kind of a jerk."

"Yeah, he can," Scott and I agreed.

"Well," Melissa stood up, straightening out her scrubs, "I have to go to work. But, you all be good, okay? Stiles, don't eat too much- you'll get a stomach ache. Scott, don't break anything and remember to take out the trash. Marie, keep a sharp eye on these two troublemakers." She winked.

After a kiss on the cheek to both her boys and a pat on the arm to the new girl, Melissa McCall was gone.

Marie made us clean up our dishes before we ventured upstairs. Scott immediately sought out his computer to chat up Allison online. I collapsed onto Scott's bed. Our redheaded friend hovered in the doorway, biting her lip, not sure what to do with herself. "If anyone should be nervous," I chuckled, "it should be me. I'm alone with two werewolves!"

She joined me, aligning herself on the bed so that we were lying next to each other without touching. I twisted my neck, studying her profile, surprised when she turned her head and looked at me, her insanely blue eyes staring straight into mine. I grinned; she smiled.

I don't know what I was thinking, or if I was thinking at all, which I probably wasn't because I usually don't, but, whatever. I don't know what I was thinking when my hand intertwined with hers, fingers threading together, right there, in between our bodies, on Scott's ugly sheets. I smiled, lopsided; she blushed, a cute little flush that reminded me of the color of strawberry milk.

My cell phone rang, the Star Wars theme, effectively ending our moment, if you could even call it a moment, which you probably couldn't, because, really, it was practically nothing.

"Yeah?"

"Is she safe?"

I rolled my eyes, "You know what, Derek? She's not, actually. You see, a few minutes ago, we were attacked by the Alpha; he was driving an ice cream truck, which was way cool. And, well, I traded Marie and Scott for a Choco Taco."

"Stiles..."

"I should've asked for another Choco Taco, don't you think? Because I kind of got the short straw in the deal. I should've at least got another Choco Taco, or maybe a screwball. What do you think?"

"So she's safe?"

I threw my head back and groaned: "Yes, Derek."

"Where is she?"

"She is currently laying beside me on this very comfortable, yet ugly, bed, in Scott's room. Her body is very much warm and alive. Would you like me to listen for her heartbeat? Check her pulse? Tickle her?"

"You're only being a smart-ass because I can't reach you right now."

I smiled at the ceiling. "Yeah, pretty much."

"If you so much as touch her-"

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed, "you'll rip my throat out with your teeth, I know, I know. We've been through this before."

Marie giggled, "Tell Derek to fight nicely." When I switched ears, relaying her message, she once again twined our hands together. I turned to look at her, still listening to Derek say he'd be back by ten; she smiled.

I hung up. Marie rolled onto her side, resting her head on my shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She tilted her head up to look at me and smiled: "Hi."

"Hi," I grinned, amused and a bit surprised. "Do I make a good pillow?"

She shook her head, "You're not squishy enough to be the perfect pillow. But, in general, as far as human pillows go? Yes, you're a good pillow. Now, shh, pillow, let me sleep." She giggled like a little girl and closed her eyes, snuggling against my side. I closed my eyes, too.

Scott was quiet with his typing- he's a slow typer -and there were no distractions except the sound of our own breathing.

In minutes, we were both asleep.

**You like?**

**I was originally going to have Scott and Stiles fight, but decided against it. So, instead, you got a cuddly fluff scene. Who wouldn't want to fall asleep with Stiles as their pillow?**

**Reviews are love. : )**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, our most generous readers!**

**There have been around twenty reviews for this story since the last chapter was posted. :O TWENTY! In only a few days! You have no idea how that amazes me. You're all really too kind. **

**Here's the next chapter. We own nothing but Marie.**

Scott POV

Derek looked none-too happy when he walked into my room to find Stiles and Marie curled up on my bed, cuddled together, sleeping soundly, her red-velvet hair a cherry waterfall over my best friend's shoulder. I, intelligently, stayed out of the danger zone and watched as he hauled the girl up over his shoulder, waking both Marie and Stiles.

His eyes were slits, glaring hard into a sleepy Stiles, who only sat up and yawned, rubbing his eyes. My only thought was, as cliche as it is, _if looks could kill_, because Derek was giving Stiles such a look that I was sure my friend would've been vaporized on the spot.

"Derek," Marie's voice was quiet, drugged with sleep. He was carrying her like you would carry a child, on his hip, one arm supporting her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck, and buried her forehead in the crook of his neck. "I'm so sleepy."

"Dude, what time is it?" Stiles murmured, running a hand over his face, his brown eyes lidded. I shrugged, not caring, just wanting him the hell out of my bed so I could try to sleep.

Derek huffed, "It's past eleven." He shifted Marie in his arms, leaning his cheek on her head, "I need to get you home, don't I?"

She shook her head. "Just lay me in the car- I'll sleep there for the night."

"Okay," Derek snorted, rolling his eyes. Stiles collapsed back onto my bed as I- like the good person I am -gathered Marie's things and followed the two other werewolves to Derek's black-as-sin car. He slipped her into the passenger side, buckled her in carefully. As he shut the door, he turned to me, taking her bag and throwing it in the back. "...thanks..." It seemed like a struggle to force the word out. I nodded in response.

I didn't wait for them to pull away before I went back inside. Staring at the couch and the thick, warm blanket draped over it, I decided that, maybe, I'd let Stiles have my bed for the night after all.

* * *

><p>I was searching in my locker- for what I have no clue -when Stiles hit my arm and smirked. I turned and my heart rate sped up a little.<p>

It was like slow-motion. It was like there was a fan blowing toward them, throwing their hair out behind them like they were models. It was like one of those movies that always play on ABC Family. At least that's how it looked to me.

Three girls, strolling down the hallway arm in arm, smiling at each other as they gossiped, looking for all the world like they ruled the school. Someone called out to one of them and they all whipped their heads toward the voice, their hair- black, blonde, red -making a strange kind of color fade as it stylishly swung with their heads.

When Marie saw us, she detached herself from Lydia and, just like that, the slow-motion spell was broken as she approached with a smile. "Hi, guys!"

"Hi," Stiles grinned, tugging on the strap of his bag. I didn't reply, preferring to watch Allison as she glanced back over her shoulder to smile at me with her ruddy lips. I grinned. _Later_, she promised. I couldn't wait.

A tap on my nose brought me back down to earth. I blinked, looking into Marie's big blue eyes. "Earth to Scott!" she laughed, rolling her eyes that looked slightly large for her face all of a sudden. I noticed Stiles bouncing slightly beside me, moving his hips back and forth in the way he does when things get too still for him. I wondered if he'd had a lot of Adderall.

The bell rang, signalling that we had four minutes to get to class. "Guess what?" Marie chatted as the three of us walked to our first period together. I didn't really care too much about what she was saying, so I looked down. I noticed Stiles brushing his hand against Marie's slightly, their pinkies hooking together for a nanosecond.

"What?" my best friend smiled. A shiver went down my spine like I was being watched or like the wolf resting under my skin wanted to break free. I rolled my shoulders back.

"Derek said that he'll take me to see my Daddy if I'm good," Marie twirled a strand of hair around her fingers as we entered the classroom. We coasted to our seats. I dropped my bag and slumped in my chair. Allison's hands rubbed the back of my neck and I grinned.

Stiles laid his chin on his arms, hands pressed to the cool desk, "That's great." He sounded genuine. "I remember you telling me you wanted to see him."

She nodded, turned around in her seat to face him. I snorted, "'If you're good.' That makes it sound like you're a little girl and he's your Daddy and he'll give you ice cream if you pick up your toys."

"Scott," Allison chided, glancing towards Marie, who's face had fallen. The redheaded girl looked down at her hands, lacing them together on Stiles' desk. My best friend reached out, tracing her knuckles with the tip of his finger. When she looked up, he made a face and she smiled, shaking her head, like _you're silly._

It was weird seeing Stiles so obviously liking a girl that wasn't Lydia. Hadn't he been drooling over the blonde since third grade? Hadn't he been obsessing over her, in love with her? But, all of a sudden, Marie comes in to the picture and it's like_ Lydia who_? That didn't make sense to me.

On the other hand, a lot of stuff didn't make sense to me.

* * *

><p>"So, what are we going to do about this Alpha?" Stiles laid on his bed, throwing a ball at the ceiling continuously. Throw, catch, throw, catch, up, down.<p>

I shrugged, "How the hell should I know?"

"Well, didn't Derek say something about you being part of the Alpha's pack? So, shouldn't you have some kind of connection with it?" Throw, catch.

"I don't know, Stiles, okay! I'm just as confused as you are!" I stood, full of impatient anger, and began to pace.

Stiles sat up, dropping the ball; it rolled across the floor, looking for something to stop its momentum. "Listen, I don't have to help you. And if you're going to be an ass, I won't."

"Maybe we can find who the Alpha is if we can get close enough," I mused. "Maybe I can call him, somehow."

My best friend flopped back onto his bed, "How? What are you going to do? Howl through a bull horn? Over a loudspeaker?"

An idea- _wham!_ -hit me. I grinned. "Stiles, you're a genius!"

"I already knew this," he waved a hand dismissively. "Now, why am I a genius?"

"We'll go to the school. And I'll howl over the loudspeaker, just like you said." I grabbed my sweatshirt, pulling it on. I grasped his hand, tugging him into a sitting position, throwing his sweatshirt to him.

"Scott!" he called, but I was already halfway down the stairs. "It was a joke!"

* * *

><p>We met up with Derek and Marie outside the school. They waited outside, Marie under her cousin's arm, against his side, as Stiles and I ventured into the building. I let the wolf inside free for a moment. I growled, howled, into the loudspeaker and my call was broadcast into the air.<p>

The Alpha would hear it.

We were back outside when everything went to hell.

Marie joined us, touching my arm. "That was so loud, Scott," she said, sounding impressed and frightened. Derek glared at me. Marie slipped to Stiles' side; his fingers found hers, twining together. Derek's glared hardened.

"Sorry, I didn't know it would be that loud," I shrugged.

"Yeah, it was loud," Stiles laughed, "and it was _awesome_."

Derek went still, "Shut up."

"Derek...?" Marie frowned, her voice wary, and she took a step towards my mentor, her hand slipping from Stiles'.

There was a growl and, suddenly, Derek was suspended in the air, the Alpha's claws in his back. Marie screamed. Or maybe we all did. Blood gushed over Derek's lips, a horrible ruby waterfall.

I grabbed Stiles' arm, tugging. He grabbed Marie's hand, urging her along with us. We all ran towards the school, tumbling over one another.

Once inside the school, I leaned against the wall, breathing heavy. I could hear Marie's shaking sobs- "That was so scary!" -and I could see the way she buried her face in Stiles' chest, his arms wrapped tight around her as he whispered calming words to her.

"Okay," I said, straightening up. "Let's get somewhere in this school that feels a bit safer."

"B-b-b-but," Marie looked at me, "what about D-d-d-Derek?"

I licked my lips, "There's nothing we can do for him. So let's try to survive now. Let's go."

Stiles' arm around Marie's shoulder, Marie's side pressed firmly against his, they joined me at my side. Slowly, slowly, we ventured into the darkness of the closest hallway.

**So, how did you like it? **

**Did you like my version of the end of Heart Monitor? **

**I really tried my best to make Derek's attack as horrible in writing as it was on the show, because watching that killed me inside.**

**I'm trying to move things- both werewolf and romantic -along slightly and we have A LOT planned.**

**I hope you all liked this.**

**Reviews are love. : )**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, our most generous readers!**

**We are up to 80 reviews! omigawd! Did you know this is my most popular story? That amazes me, really. I don't think you understand how wonderful I think you all are. **

**This next chapter is kind of supposed to be just them- Stiles, Scott, Marie, Lydia, Jackson, Allison -talking to the police after "Night School," so it's kind of everyone's POV. And I've never actually read a police report so I'm just going off my mystery books like **_**Brother/Sister**_** and **_**Freaky Green Eyes,**_** which are both wonderful books you should go read.**

**We own nothing but Marie.**

Yes, I'm sure I'm okay. No, I don't want a glass of water before we start. Yes, I'm sure.

I'm shaking? Oh, oh yeah, I guess I am.

Of course I'm still a little freaked out. Me and my friends were almost murdered tonight. We're lucky we're alive.

Yeah, sure, I'll tell you what I think happened tonight. No problem, Sheriff.

That attacker? Well, like I told you before, I thought it was Derek Hale. I'm almost sure it was. He's always been shady and he's kind of dark and mysterious, like you can't really trust him. Unless he's got an evil twin running around.

Sorry, sir. Hanging out with Stiles too much makes me unintentionally sarcastic.

Why were we here in the first place? Well, you know me and Stiles...we go places and do things that usually lead us into situations like this. We're idiots. And we thought, you know, it'd be fun to hang out at the school. When it's just the both of us, we get kind of bored sometimes, so we picked up Marie and dragged her along with us. And, well, she's a little...ditzy, I guess is the word, and so she was all for it. Allison said she got a text from me telling her to meet me here, but I never texted her, which is really strange. When I saw her and Lydia and Jackson, I was like _what are you doing here?_ And she was all _you told me to meet you here._ And then, I was confused and all _huh?_

Yeah, it's really weird.

No, I don't know who sent the text.

Yeah, I know Allison doesn't seem happy with me. I'm the one who lured her to her doom, right? Even if I didn't send the text. She doesn't trust me. Actually, she kind of broke up with me tonight.

Don't be sorry- I guess I kind of deserved it.

Is that all you wanted to know? My mom should be here to pick me up soon- she's really worried.

* * *

><p>Hey, daddy-o!<p>

Oh, I'm not supposed to call you that right now? Right, you're on duty. Sorry, Sheriff. Okay, hit me. ...Not literally, but, like, hit me with your questions.

Do I think the attacker was Derrek Hale? Is that was Scott said? I didn't get a good look at the guy, you know, because it was dark and I was scared and the girls were screaming and I was screaming.

Nah, Jackson was screaming; he was counted in 'the girls.'

Okay, sorry, I forgot I'm not supposed to be funny right now.

Right. Focus. Sorry. I haven't taken my Adderall, so my mind's like a tornado right now. Speaking of Adderall, I need to pick up some more.

Dad! Ugh, God! No, I don't abuse drugs! You know I have A.D.D. Why are you laughing? That wasn't even funny; stop laughing! You can't even play it off like _I'm on duty so I have to ask _because that was mean.

Right. Back to the attacker. Sure, I guess it could've been Derek. The guy's scary enough.

Why he would want us dead? I really have no clue. I mean, he thinks I'm annoying, but, then again, so do a lot of people, so I don't think that's a valid reason to kill me. And the others...why would he want to kill them? There's no reason. Like, Marie's his cousin. Why would he want to kill her?

Yeah, the whole Allison-got-a-text-from-Scott-that-wasn't-from-Scott thing was freaky. I don't even understand how it's possible.

I'm free to go? You mean I'm free to sit in the waiting room until you're ready to take me home because you're not going to let me drive home alone with a killer on the loose?

Right. Stopping with the sarcasm.

* * *

><p>Hi, Sheriff. It's nice to see you again.<p>

I'm fine, thanks, I don't need water.

Yeah, I was crying a bit. It was terrifying. I thought we were all going to die. There's nothing scarier than being helpless against your own demise. Now I know how people in horror movies feel.

Scott thinks Derek is the attacker? That's what he said?

Yeah, he's my cousin.

If I knew he was the attacker, I wouldn't try to protect him, don't worry. I never got a glimpse of who ever was trying to kill us. It was so scary and the whole place was really dark and my heart was beating so fast and at one point I thought I was going to...freak out, I guess, is the best way to put it.

Sure, like a panic attack.

Do I think Derek is capable of killing us? Well, you never really know what a person's capable of. Personally, Derek's always been so gentle and protective with me that I never thought he could ever hurt me.

Thanks for the tissue. I'm crying like an idiot, like a child.

Why am I crying? ...You have to understand- I love my cousin. But, after tonight, if what Scott said is true...I'm scared of him, too. And I don't want to be scared of him.

Why? He's the only family I have left.

No, that's fine; you don't need to make arrangements. I can just live where I lived with Derek.

Oh, you're right- if he's the attacker, it's probably not safe for me there anymore.

You'll make all the arrangements? Yay! It'll be like a sleepover! I love sleepovers! Thanks so much!

Right. Slow down.

I can go? By 'go,' you mean I can leave this little room and wait until you make arrangements?

Okay, I just didn't want any misunderstandings.

* * *

><p>Hi.<p>

Yeah, I'll tell you everything.

Starting with the text? Okay, I got a text from Scott telling me to meet him at the school. And, like, okay, weird place, whatever. So, I go, but Lydia and Jackson tag along because, apparently, double dates are better than dates one-on-one.

Here, you want see it?

Yeah, it seems ligit. And, when I get there, he tells me he didn't text me. And, then, all of a sudden, we're in danger. We've got some killer after us and we're running and hiding and it's dark and Scott's being secretive.

Yeah, secretive. Like, _we're in danger, we're gonna die_ but then he went out to find something, taking this explosive thing Lydia made with him, and then he locked us in a room.

Um, Lydia made this explosive cocktail thing. It didn't explode because Jackson gave her the wrong chemicals. And Scott took it with him to protect himself.

Of course I'm angry at him- we just broke up.

Why did I break up with him? I feel like I can't trust him, and if I can't trust him then there's no point in being together.

No, I didn't get a look at the attacker.

I can go now? Thanks. I'm glad I could help.

* * *

><p>Hey.<p>

No, I don't want a bottle of water. Let's skip the pleasantries and get this done- I'm tired and I want to go to bed.

I don't look so good? Thanks so much. It might be because I was almost killed tonight and I've been feeling like crap for a couple days.

McCall said Derek Hale was who attacked us? Well, I wouldn't put it past hale. That's guy's crazy- I mean certifiably insane. He should be in a nut house. He's violet and creepy. So, I wouldn't put it past him.

Do I think it was Hale? No. I wouldn't put it past him, like I said, but I don't think it was him.

Why? When I was in the hallway, I saw a guy leaning against the wall, totally calm. And then, it crouched down on all fours, it's feet and hands, not hands and knees, like some kind of animal. and it ran off.

No, I didn't see a face. It was more a shadow.

I know it sounds crazy, but it's not the product of too many horror movies. You know what? Maybe it was Hale and he was just being his weird, creepy-ass self. Not weird like your son's weird- no offence -but weird like scary.

Can I go now?

Thanks.

* * *

><p>Hi.<p>

Am I nervous? No, not nervous. Just a little shaken.

Of course it was scary. It was like being in a horror movie. Now I know why those idiots open the closet even though you know they shouldn't. It's because, even though the killer might be in the closet, there also might be something in there that could help you. And you'd do anything for some help.

No, I hate horror movies. I always make Jackson rent _The Notebook._

Scott said the attacker was Derek Hale? That's a shame. When he's wasn't so scary, like, before I was in high school, I used to think he was so cute. You know, the whole dark and brooding thing girls fall for? It's a shame he's a would-be murderer now.

So I think it was him? Sure, why not? If that's what Scott saw, I'll trust it. The scariest part of it for me was not knowing who was going to kill me. I almost wanted to throw up from the suspense, you know that feeling? But, these are really nice shoes and this is a new outfit. And I kind of have a reputation to uphold.

The self-igniting Molotov Cocktail? Yeah, it was easy to make. And it would've worked if Jackson had given me the right chemical.

I'm smart? Thanks. I have the highest GPA in the school. My teachers want to test my IQ- they think I might be a genius, which is flattering.

I can go now? Thanks, I'm super-tired. I'm glad I could help.

**So, I know it's really different from the rest of the story (sorry!), but I still kind of like it. And I didn't want to just skip "Night School" completely, so I did this. **

**Don't worry- things will really get moving from here.**

**reviews are love : )**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, beautiful, wonderful readers!**

**We're almost to 100 reviews! Triple-digits! That has NEVER happened to me before! You're all amazing! Let's get there before the finale!**

**Here's the next chapter. We own nothing but Marie.**

Sheriff Stilinski POV

I opened the door for her. She stepped inside, the black handles of her bag clutched in her hands. Her shoes touched the creaking wood. The room was empty but for a bed, a dresser, and a mirror. She put her bag on the bed and turned, smiling, to the two of us waiting in the doorway.

"It's not much," I said, "but I hope it'll do."

"It's more than enough," she giggled, such a happy girl.

I smiled, old laugh lines creasing in the corners of my eyes. "Stiles' room is right next door, so, if you need anything, you can just pound on the wall. They're paper-thin, so he'll be able to hear you."

She nodded, still smiling. "Thank you so much for letting me stay."

"We wouldn't leave you to fend for yourself with Hale on the loose." I noticed her slight wince and I chuckled. "Don't worry; there's no way he'll try anything in the Sheriff's house. And we'll catch him soon."

She sighed, nodding, smiling, letting me know my words were a relief. She tugged on the hem of her skirt. She beamed, tilting her head to the side. "I'm sure everything will work out just fine! And I'm still so glad you're letting me stay here!"

"It's no problem, really," I waved my hand, like _forget it, it's no big deal_. "And it'll be nice to have a woman's touch around the house again."

Stiles looked down at this, his shoes suddenly interesting. He shoved his hands in his pockets. I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. Marie didn't seem fazed by this, too busy appraising the small, plain room with big eyes.

"I'll let you get settled in," I backed away, down the hall towards my own room. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw Stiles leaning in the guest room doorway, smiling to himself as the little redhead unpacked.

I frowned to myself, catching the look in his eyes, and turned back to my own door, ready to pull off my uniform and my badge, ready for a good night's sleep.

* * *

><p>"Stiles?" I knocked on his bedroom door with no response. I shrugged- <em>maybe<em>_ he's already asleep_ -and appraoched Marie's door, which was cracked open. I peered in, mouth open to say good night.

Well, I'd found my son.

He was laying on the plain bed beside Marie, staring at the ceiling, their shoulders just brushing. "I think Jackson's gonna ask you out," Stiles breathed in.

Marie exhaled a laugh, "Fat chance."

Stiles turned his head to look at her, "You haven't noticed him flirting with you? He's all over you, touching your arm, whispering in your ear, all the time, even in front of Lydia."

"Oh," she blinked, "maybe that's why she's been extra-mean lately."

"You think?" my son snorted.

"Well, even if he did, I wouldn't say yes."

"Really?"

Marie turned her head to look at him and smiled. "Of course I wouldn't- it's against the girl code."

"Ah," Stiles' fingers slipped through hers,_"thou shalt not date your best friend's guy._ Something like that, I'm guessing?"

She nodded, giggling, "Yeah, exactly like that."

I frowned, slipping out of the doorway, away from the room.

* * *

><p>I awoke to the smell of bacon, which was strange because Stiles and the stove were not friends and I wasn't cooking in my sleep. My eyebrows furrowed, I shuffled into my slippers and cautiously descended the stairs. Once in the kitchen, I saw the back of a small girl with a waterfall of cherry hair standing at my stove in pajamas. I wondered what the hell was going on until I smelled coffee and my brain woke up.<p>

I remembered the situation: we were playing house with the Hale girl while her murderous cousin was on the loose. She was making breakfast for us.

That's when I noticed Stiles sitting on the counter in front of the cereal cabinet, swinging his legs like a little boy, nursing a cup of coffee, his daily dose of Adderall in a little plastic cup beside him. It reminded me so vibrantly of back when his mother was alive that I could practically picture her standing there, telling Stiles to swallow his pills like a good boy.

Except Stiles had never looked at his mother the way he was looking at Marie.

"Morning," Marie smiled over her shoulder as my son washed his pills down with hot coffee. "The bacon will be ready any minute."

I sat down at the table in a sort of daze, frowning. Marie put my plate in front of me. I looked down. Two eggs and a few strips of bacon, arranged to look like a smiley face, stared back. She gave me a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice. She made sure to give Stiles his share, too, which he quickly devoured. She escaped the kitchen, up the stairs, and, after putting his dishes in the sink- something that would usually take much demanding on my part -he went to follow her.

"Stiles," I said. He stopped, mid-stride. I nodded to the seat across from me. Warily, he sat down, his big brown eyes- just like his mother's -wide, like _am I in trouble? _"I just want to talk to you."

"About what, Daddy-o?"

"Your mother."

He stopped fidgeting, eyes flashing up towards me before staring intently down at the old wood of our table. "What about her?"

"Just...about her."

"Dad, I have school and I have to get ready-"

I cut him off. "Having Marie make breakfast made me think of how your mother used to. Now, just be quiet- I understand that's hard -and listen. Just let me rant a little, okay?"

He nodded.

"I met your mother when I was your age- give or take a few years. And we were so drunk on love because she was just a little crazy- just like you. She used to say she was probably a bird in another life. I loved her eyes, like melted, swirling chocolate. I remember how scared I was when I proposed- why would a free person like her want to marry a stick in the mud like me? And then she said yes and it was like life couldn't get any better.

"But it did," I said, looking up at him, "we had you." He glanced up with his melted chocolate eyes, a crease between his eyebrows:

"Why are you telling me this?"

I sighed, reaching across the table, touching his hand, "Stiles, I'm only telling you this because life...can do terrible things."

He nodded slowly. I continued.

"Do you remember when she got sick?"

He nodded again, eyes watering.

"That," I said, "was probably the hardest thing to go through. She used to make a game out of her medicine with you so you'd take your Adderall- whoever could swallow their pills first got to pick what was for dinner. She always let you win."

He smiled a bit at this.

"And when she was in the hospital, she would sit you next to her and tell you all these stories about what Heaven looked like, so you would know she was going somewhere nice."

He ran a hand over his hair.

"And when you were twelve, Melissa picked you up early from school. I remember you coming in, gloating, because Scott had to stay and take a test and you got out of it. But, when we got to your mom's room, she was saying how you had to be a good boy and keep me in line. And you told her you would, swore you would, and Melissa took you out of the room and you had a panic attack. And you stayed with Scott for a few days. And when you came back home, you said you could handle it because you promised your mom and, anyway, Scott had to go to school while you stayed home and ate ice cream."

He laughed.

"God, I miss her."

He looked away, "Dad, seriously, why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Stiles, I see the way you're looking at Marie. And I don't want you to get hurt like you were- like I was -when your mother died. So...don't fall in love with her."

"Why not?"

"There's too much to lose."

He stood up, running a hand over his hair. "What would you do if I told you I thought I already was?"

I sighed, running a hand down my face. "There's not much I can do about that."

**That's all you get until tomorrow, because I want to update before the new episode again. Yeah, this was depressing, but you got a good glimpse into Stiles' past and his dad's mind.**

**And Stiles said he's falling for Marie *eee!***

**Our inspiration for his dad's talk was "Terrible Things" by Mayday Parade, my favorite band. We actually used a line from the song in this, so they get credit for that line. They're awesome; go listen to them.**

**See you tomorrow!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, y'all, what's up?**

**This story is my dream come true. It's had such great reception and I haven't gotten one flame. And it's super popular in such a short time. This is why I wanna be a writer - because of stories like this, that happen because of people like you. :D so thanks.**

**Happy 10th Chapter.**

**We own nothing but Marie (not Marie Elaine Cullen, that's a different Marie).**

**Here we go.**

Marie POV

I laid down on the cold bleachers, staring up at the clouds, hair fanning out around my head, trailing over the edges of the cold metal seats. "Ugh," I whined. "Watching lacrosse practice is boring."

Allison sighed, "Well, my aunt isn't picking me up until three-thirty. And Lydia wants to watch her boyfriend sweat and run around. And you have to go home with either Stiles or Scott. So you're stuck here until four."

I pointed to a certain cloud, "Look, a bunny!"

Lydia rolled her eyes, ignoring the both of us.

"Do you guys think I did the right thing...breaking up with Scott?" Allison questioned. I tugged on my multicolored leggings, tucking them into my boots, looking at her. She looked strangely distorted from my upside-down and sideways view, but one thing couldn't be mistaken: she looked so sad.

"He misses you," I said quietly.

"You did the right thing," Lydia announced in her loud voice, the one that told you was her word was law. "If you can't trust him, why be with him? He was being a bad boyfriend- you had every right to end things. Don't even feel bad for him."

Allison nodded, squaring her shoulders. I shrugged and looked back at the clouds. "He still misses you," I whispered, hoping no one could hear.

The boys' hearts were beating so loudly, the blood rushing through their veins as they worked, trained, practiced, faster, faster, faster. The heartbeats of the guys on the bench were slower, but still faster than usual, so caught up in the scrimmage.

One heartbeat was slow, regular, comforting.

I turned my head to look at the field and giggled. Stiles was laying over the bench, legs dangling off one side, arms and head dangling off the other. His mouth was open as if he was trying to catch raindrops.

One of the other guys asked him what the hell he was doing. He said he was getting a different view of the game.

A car pulled up to the edge of the field, and a woman stepped out. She slid sunglasses into her hair and I wondered why someone would wear sunglasses at all on such a cloudy day.

She waved in our direction and Allison stood up, gathering her bag. "That's my aunt," she smiled at me. "You know, you could always come over my house and hang until Stiles can come pick you up after practice."

I brightened, "Really?"

"Sure." She turned to our other friend. "Bye, Lydia."

Lydia waved her hand slightly, more of a jerking motion than an actual wave. "Bye, bitches."

"Bye, Lydia!" I giggled, knowing her name calling was affectionate just by the tone of her voice.

I jumped off the bleachers, landing on my feet, mentally scolding myself, like _ do regular people do that_? I skipped my way over to Stiles, grabbing his ankles and pulling. He sat up in a flash, a confused jumble of flailing arms. He looked at me with his big doe-brown eyes and I smiled:

"I'm going to Allison's to hang out, okay? You can pick me up from there after practice."

"Uh, yeah, whatever. Sure, I'll see you then."

"Kay-kay!" I clapped and kissed his cheek, rushing over to Allison and her aunt who wears sunglasses on cloudy days.

"Aunt Kate," Allison smiled, "this is Marie. Marie, this is my Aunt Kate."

I waved, "Hi, Aunt Kate!"

The woman stared at me for a moment; her eyes had a kind of depth to them that I was suddenly sure you could only get by trading your soul to the devil. She looked dangerous.

But then she smiled, the kind of smile mothers give their children, and I figured I was just imagining the danger. "Nice to meet you, Marie."

I grinned as we climbed into her car, Allison texting the whole time.

Allison dragged me into her room as soon as we got to her house. I hardly got a glimpse at the rest of her home before I was plopping down on her bed, my head at the end, my feet at her pillows.

My friend put her phone down and turned to me. "If someone you thought was your friend said something bad about you, you'd want me to tell you, right?"

I thought about it for a minute and shrugged, "Sure."

"Lydia thinks you've been all over Jackson and she said you're acting like a Bratz hooker," she sat down in her computer chair, pulling a hand through her hair.

"Ha!" I rolled my shoulders, smiling, lifting my phone to check the time. "What does that even mean?"

Allison breathed out a laughed, too, and I was glad because it told me the insult wasn't something to take too seriously. "I think it's something like that Bratz are children's dolls, all innocent and stuff, but they're fake. And hooker is obvious."

"So I'm a fake-innocent hooker?" I giggled. "You know, I think the guidance counselor listed that as one of my career choices."

She laughed, her head falling back, "Hanging out with Stiles has made you sarcastic, huh?"

"Sarcastic?" I rolled onto my stomach, pressing my hand to the hollow of my throat, "Moi?" After we stopped giggling like children, I tilted my head to the side. "I...you don't think I've been flirting with Jackson, do you?"

"Personally, Marie," Allison spun her chair to face me, "I don't think you even know how to flirt. And, if you did, you'd be flirting with Stiles, not Jackson. Because even a blind person can see how into him you are."

"Stiles?" I raised my eyebrows. "No, we're just friends."

"Close, _personal_ friends," she teased.

I ran a hand through my hair, "Seriously, we're only friends."

"You're staying in his house. If you're just friends now, you won't be for long. How will you resist, when he's only a thin wall away at night, lying in his bed, dreaming about you?"

"I'll resist," I smiled, "trust me."

"Then there's something wrong with you," she told me. "The object of your affection, whose dad is never home, is laying in bed just a wall away, and you'll_ resist?_"

I rolled again, onto my back again, staring at the ceiling, twirling a strand of hair around my finger. "He's not always a wall away."

"What, does he sleep on the couch sometimes, too tired from eating and watching comedy shows to make his way to his bed?"

I shrugged, "I don't know- I've only been there one night. But he slept with me in my room last night."

Allison straightened up, "He slept with you?"

"Yeah," I breathed. "I was scared to be alone, so he sat and talked with me, and we fell asleep. I assume he slept there all night, seeing as he was still there when I woke up this morning."

She relaxed back in her chair, "Wow. Usually when a guy and a girl are in the same bed and the guy is obviously into the girl, he tries something. Stiles must have a lot of self-control."

I sighed, breathed in deep, the smell of Allison and a whole lot of Scott bombarding my senses. "Scott's been in here a lot hasn't he?" _I can smell him everywhere._

"Let's not talk about him."

"I know you want to." _I can feel your depression, your obsession. I can practically taste your desperation. You can feel him here, too, everywhere._

She was silent. And, then, "Do you think I did the right thing?"

"Breaking up with him?"

She nodded.

I sighed. "I think you both need a break from each other." I paused. "You both have a lot going on. And if he can't tell you things, that's his business, but it makes you not trust him. So, a break, yes. A break up, not really. But I can tell you both care a lot about each other. And you miss each other. So you'll be back together some day."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. But, if not," I shrugged, "then maybe this break up was exactly the right thing. Only time will tell."

"Okay, fortune cookie," she laughed.

"Knock, knock," her aunt opened the door with her elbow, carrying a tray with three glasses of slushy yellow drinks. "What's up?" Allison and her aunt both took a drink, so I took one, too.

Allison took a sip of her drink, "Nothing. Just talking about boys."

"Oh, how is Scott?" Aunt Kate smiled coyly, her lips on the rim of her cup. Her eyes flickered to me for a nanosecond, like she thought I knew something about Scott, something more than Allison could ever know.

Allison cast her eyes down, into her drink, "We broke up."

Kate's eyes hardened, the devil's soulless depth flashing again. I almost whimpered like a hurt cub. "What did he do?"

"I just felt like he was keeping secrets."

This time I knew Aunt Kate's eyes flickered to me as she said, "Well, we all have secrets." I tensed slightly, instinct kicking in, telling me _be ready for battle._

But, instead of pouncing or growling like some wild beast, I smiled and giggled, cupping my palm around my mouth, "Yeah, like no one knows I still have my baby blanket."

"Like no one knows you're practically _pining _for Stiles," Allison chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"Who's Stiles?" Aunt Kate, ever so curious, looked between us.

"Like no one knows I'm a Bratz hooker," I snorted, trying to control my giggles, placing my drink back on the tray. I didn't trust Aunt Kate enough to drink it.

"Like no one knows you and Jackson are _totally _secretly together," Allison whispered, widening her eyes. There was silence for a moment, before we both lost it completely, laughing our heads off.

A car horn honked outside, ending our fest of silliness, and my phone buzzed with a call. "I'm here," Stiles said when I answered; he never gave me a chance to respond, hanging up immediately.

"I've got to go," I smiled, picking up my bag.

Allison made to stand, but Aunt Kate shook her head, "No need- I'll walk her to the door."

"See you tomorrow," I waved, following Kate down the stairs, to the door. I smiled. "Thank for having me."

"No problem. See you soon, Hale," she grinned, closing the door behind me. I was halfway to Stiles' jeep before I realized I had never told her my last name.

**So, not much romance, or any romance, really, just talk of it, but I really hope you all liked it.**

**I'm posting this tonight instead of tomorrow because I'll forget.**

**Oh, and I don't own Bratz dolls, but I do own the "Bratz Hooker" joke, as it's a inside joke between me and my friend.**

**Reviews are love : )**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, y'all, what's up?**

**WE PASSED 100 REVIEWS! YAY! I UNDERSTAND YOUR EXCITEMENT! *pops sparkling cider* THANK YOU SO MUCH! The only thing I can think when I get a new review is something along the lines of "Aw, thanks" and "I'm popular! They like me- they really like me!" So thank you all so much. Really.**

**We own nothing but Marie (not Marie Elaine Cullen, that's a different Marie).**

**Here we go.**

Stiles POV

Marie got into my jeep, eyebrows scrunched together in a way that was completely adorable, but I couldn't really bring myself to care about how cute she looked. I smiled apologetically, "Sorry I'm a little late. Scott bashed our goalie Danny in the face so I took him to the nurse."

"Oh, poor Danny! Is he okay?" She seemed genuinely worried.

I nodded, chuckling slightly. "Yeah, he's fine now. I thought the damage was a lot worse than it actually was. But, then again, I'm the only one on the team that knows about Scott's super-strength. I just hope no one starts hating Scott because he hurt Danny- everybody likes Danny."

Marie smiled, listening to me ramble like she was actually interested. "I don't think Danny likes me too much. I mean, he's _okay_ with me, but he doesn't seem to thrilled that I count him as a friend. Like, am I not attractive to gay guys? If I'm not, I'm kind of screwed, because girls don't think I'm attractive and I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life-"

"Stiles," she touched my arm. "Are you okay? You're rambling more than usual."

I shrugged her off. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She pulled her hand away, looking down at her lap, acting like I'd slapped her, rejected her. And, in a way, I guess I had. Sighing, I reached over and took her hand in mine silently, giving her reassurance that I wasn't mad at her. No, it wasn't her I was angry with.

We pulled into the driveway and, as soon as we got in the house, I stormed upstairs, ignoring my dad's call of welcome. I paused at the top of the steps, looking down at Marie, who was hovering near the front door.

"Stiles? Marie?" my dad called from the kitchen. I rolled my eyes, like _who else would it be_? Marie dropped her bag near onto the couch and strolled into the kitchen to greet my father. I shrugged and made my way into my room, collapsing face-first onto my bed, burying my head in my pillows.

I laid like that for awhile, venting all my anger into my pillow in one long groan. I wouldn't throw a temper tantrum, no matter how appealing the idea was. I was seventeen, not seven, and I was going to act like it, damn it.

"Stiles?"

I sat up and Marie was in my doorway.

"What's wrong? I can practically feel your anger. Your heart is beating just a little faster than normal. I can tell something happened."

"Right," I nodded, running a hand over my hair, "you're so different from Scott and Derek that sometimes I forget you're a werewolf, too."

She plopped down beside me, smiling slightly, "Tell me what's wrong- it'll make you feel better." I watched her gather her hair into a ponytail and let it fall back down her back in a cascade of strawberry-scented red velvet.

I figured maybe she was right and so I said it: "Scott kissed Lydia."

"Scott kissed Lydia?" her eyes went wide, lips parting in surprise. "Why?"

I shrugged, falling onto my back, staring at my cracked ceiling. I started to ramble in my fury, the words slipping out of my mouth without my control, "I don't know...because he's an ass. Like, he knows how I feel about her. He knows she's like, like the one girl that I've-" I trailed off.

She was quiet for so long I thought she left. "...You like Lydia...?"

I nodded, "Yeah, kind of...since third grade..." I sat up and looked at Marie, into her big blue eyes. They weren't anything like Lydia's. Lydia's eyes were green. Marie's were bright and intense and kind and focused only on me. The hair falling into them wasn't like Lydia's, either. Lydia had strawberry blonde hair, not vibrant cupcake-colored hair.

Looking into Marie's eyes, I suddenly wondered why the hell it mattered that Scott kissed Lydia. I was over Lydia, wasn't I? She was nothing to me. She was part of my old life, the life where everything was normal, where Scott didn't have crazy powers, where Derek Hale wasn't counted as an acquaintance, where the girl in front of me didn't exist.

It was time I let go of that life.

I touched Marie's cheek- ignoring her whispered "Stiles?" -and brushed her cherry bangs away from her face. I could count the different shades of blue in her eyes. There wasn't a sarcastic thought in my mind, not a thought beside how I felt like I could stare right into her very heart.

"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?" I asked, my voice hoarse. "Because you really are." I wasn't just talking about her eyes, her hair, her face. Her beauty was so much deeper than her makeup.

"Stiles?" she whispered, biting her lip.

"So pretty." Sighing, I slid my fingers into her cherry curls, my breath shaking. I leaned in, pulling her closer. She put her small, warm hands on either side of my neck. I licked my lips, not completely sure how to go about showing her I wanted her.

Pushing aside any logic my mind had at all, I leaned closer, instinct taking over, my nose brushing hers. I summoned my courage and-

My phone rang.

I fumbled, letting her go, trying to find my chiming and vibrating phone. My face was red- I could feel it. My hand went to my hair as I answered, "Hello?"

"Dude, where the hell are you? The full moon's tonight," Scott growled out. "I'm gonna need your help."

I looked at Marie, who had turned away from me, pulling her hair over one shoulder, plaiting it into a braid. I sighed, "Sure, I'll be over soon." I stood, unsure of what to do, what to say. I fidgeted, "Listen, Marie, I have to go, but-"

"Scott needs you," she nodded, still looking down. I drew my lower lip into my mouth, catching it between my teeth. She looked up at me with a small smile. "Go, Stiles. He'll need you tonight."

* * *

><p>I got to Scott's house with a bag of chains in hand. After hand-cuffing him to the radiator, I let my anger bubble up and rush out of me.<p>

"You kissed her, Scott! You kissed Lydia! That's like, she's like the one girl I-" I huffed, cracking my neck. "You know what? I don't even care. You can have her. You can have Jackson's sloppy seconds. I - I don't even want her anymore."

Scott's voice was low, predatory- the moon was close. "You don't want Lydia? You want Marie now? I can smell her all over you. You think she'll want you? Who would want you? You're just a little freak, some spastic kid who doesn't realize no one will ever want them. Maybe Lydia wouldn't have avoided you for years if you were normal, if you weren't so weird. You are nothing, _nothing_, compared to me and Jackson. Even Danny has a better chance than you."

I stepped out of the room, sliding against the wall. _He's one to talk, _the voice inside my head told me, _Allison broke up with him. He's the one that's alone._

"Stiles," he began to whine, whimper, beg, "Stiles, Stiles, it hurts. Stiles, please, it hurts." Finally, this faded into a growl. He went silent.

I stood, glancing in to check up on him. The handcuffs were broken. The window was open. Scott was gone. There was an unstable werewolf on the loose. "Oh, crap."

* * *

><p>I pulled up to my house, tires skidding. "Get in."<p>

Marie ripped the door open, climbing in quickly. "What's wrong?"

"Scott's loose," I explained as we sped off. "We need to find him."

* * *

><p>My door creaked open. I lay still as the floorboards groaned with the weight of whoever was crossing my room. My bed springs squealed as the person climbed onto my bed. I felt a slight breeze as someone pulled my blankets away. And, suddenly, a warmth pressed against my body as they cuddled up against me.<p>

"Marie?"

"Sorry," she whispered, "I couldn't sleep."

I wrapped an arm around her, "It's fine. The sheep were getting tired of having me count them, anyway. So, what's up?"

She nuzzled her nose against my neck, breathing in deeply. "I just didn't want to be alone."

We were silent for a bit, just breathing, just lying there. I pressed my cheek into her hair. "I, uh, I'm sorry for trying to, uh, kiss you earlier."

"Don't be sorry," she mumbled against my neck. I pulled the blankets up around us more, wrapping us up in a warm cocoon. Her hand found mine, our fingers threading together over my chest. I sighed, my lips quirking up a bit in the corners. "Oh, and, Stiles? About what you said in the car earlier, when you picked me up from Allison's? ...I think you're attractive."

I stared at the ceiling, like _how do I respond to that? It probably doesn't mean anything. Just because she says I'm attractive and we hold hands sometimes...that doesn't mean she likes me._

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" she asked.

I tilted my head, straining to look at her. "Huh?"

"When you said I was beautiful- did you mean it?"

I snorted, "You have eyes. What do you see when you look in the mirror? What kind of personality do you think you have?"

She rolled onto her stomach, hip pressing into mine, supporting herself on her elbows. Her eyes were like crystal marbles; her hair tumbled over her shoulders. I reached out, brushing a stray curl behind her ear. She raised her eyebrows at me. _Oh, she wants a real answer._

"Yes, I think you're beautiful," I whispered like I was in church. "I know you get that all the time, but I think how pretty you are goes so much deeper than the surface."

She smiled. The moonlight coming from my window danced across her face and I swore I could see the full moon reflected in her eyes, even though she wasn't facing the window. "You really are beautiful," I promised. My gaze dropped to her parted, smiling lips. "And I want to try and kiss you again."

My fingers threaded into her hair, cupping the side of her face, and we leaned in to try again. Our noses brushed; this time I wasn't stopping. I took a breath and-

There was a tap at my window.

We pulled apart, Marie somehow swiftly turning her body and sitting up, as Scott climbed through the window. "Hey, Stiles. Hey, Marie."

I sat up, "What is it?"

"Derek's alive."

Marie's face lit up like she was a child getting desert before dinner. "Derek's okay?"

Scott nodded, plopping himself down at the end of my bed. "Yeah, he's fine. He's asleep in my room right now, but he'll need to stay here after tonight because my mom checks on me so much."

"Oh, yeah," I rolled my eyes. "Let's have the alleged murderer stay at the Sheriff's house; that's a wonderful idea! And when my dad finds him and pulls his gun and we try to protect him, we'll all get carted off to Juvie for harboring a fugitive. Ah, I can't wait to tell my kids about this!"

Marie touched my arm, "Maybe it would be best for him to stay here. Your dad is hardly ever home and this is the last place they would look for Derek."

I looked at her. _But I won't be able to be with you if he's here. _I sighed. "Fine. He can stay here."

By the time Scott left, Marie was cuddling my pillow, asleep.

**So, a super-lot of romance in this one.**

**Yes, I am doing the whole "about to kiss- SIKE! INTERRUPTION!" thing. I love/hate when that happens in movies and books, because you never know when they'll actually, finally kiss.**

**Anyone else despise Scott in "Lunatic"? Seriously, I couldn't hate him more. All he did in the episode was hurt Stiles. He was such a jerk. My sister and I were like "grrrr". So I tried to incorporate that into this.**

**Who else is excited for the new episode?**

**Reviews are love : )**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, guys : )**

**Who's up for another chapter?**

**Do you guys realize how many reviews we've gotten? I'm so excited!**

**This one is half-Derek, half-Marie.**

**We own nothing but Marie (not Marie Elaine Cullen, that's a different Marie).**

**Here we go.**

Derek POV

I leaned against the wall, silent as I heard Stiles' bedroom door open. I watched the oblivious boy drop his bag and sit in his computer chair like he was too tired to stand. The scent of Marie in the house loosened my tense muscles.

"Stiles!" the chorus of my cousin and the Sheriff drifted through the house into my ear drum.

"Yo, Da-" he spotted me. "D-d-Derek!" I gestured to the door, like _keep you dad from coming in, stupid. _He raced to the door, suddenly full of energy. "Y-yo, Dad."

The conversation was something about being proud and first-string and a game tonight, but I couldn't really bring myself to care. I could hear Marie's heartbeat- and I was sure she could hear mine as well -and the sound was comforting, the heartbeat of family, of pack. Stiles' father made his way down the stairs. I grabbed Stiles' as he slid back into the room, slamming him against the wall.

"If you say anything-"

"What am I going to say?" he countered. "'Hey, Dad, Derek Hale's in my room- bring your gun.'" He raised his eyebrows and I sighed. "That's right; if I'm harboring your fugitive ass, it's my house, my rules."

I stepped back, accepting his terms. And, then-

"Derek!"

Marie flew through the doorway, smile taking over her face, red hair soaring behind her. She threw her arms around my neck and my arms locked around her waist, lifting her off the ground. My lips twitched; I grinned into her hair. Her knees gripped my hips and I spun around a little, like one of those reunions in that movie about letters and some guy named John. She giggled and I hugged her tighter.

"Okay, now that we're finished with the family reunion..." Stiles breathed and I opened my eyes to see him smiling and rolling his own brown orbs.

I sighed and sat down on his bed, ignoring him completely and whispering to the small girl on my lap. She smiled, telling me how happy she was that I was okay, as I pushed my forehead against hers. Marie was my family, the only thing I had left. Not knowing if she was safe those past few days had been killing me.

"I went to Allison's," she told me.

"Oh, yeah?" I questioned, feeling not unlike a father with his child.

She nodded, eyes widening as she made a face, "Her aunt's weird."

I snapped to attention, "Her aunt Kate?"

Another nod. "She scared me a little. Like she was dangerous. Or like she'd sold her soul to the devil or something. I didn't feel like I could trust her."

"You can't. She's a Hunter and she's the one who set the house on fire. She's the reason we have no family." I growled, chest rumbling.

We were silent, even Stiles, and I knew he'd been listening to our conversation. Marie dropped her head, eyebrows drawn together. I took a deep breath, exhaling my anger.

"I hate that woman," Marie suddenly announced, her voice cold.

I nodded, running a hand over her hair, "I do, too."

* * *

><p>Danny didn't want to be there. I could feel the discontent rolling off him in waves. It only duplicated when Stiles brought up tracking the text and Danny's arrest report. And, suddenly, I was roped into seducing the goaltender into submission. Shirt on, shirt off- "Stiles, these don't fit" -shirt on, shirt off, shirt on, shirt off. Once the kid had finally agreed, I slipped on a new shirt- stretching it out a bit -and joined them in their search.<p>

The text was traced to Scott's mother's computer.

* * *

><p>"Just tell my dad I'll be there," Stiles sighed from beside me. "And keep an eye on Marie."<p>

I shook my head as he hung up, "You're not going to make it."

He nodded, visibly disappointed, but willing to do anything to help his friends. "I know." We sat together in silence. Every time I inhaled, I could smell Marie all over him.

"Oh, and one more thing."

He turned to me, "Yeah?"

I grabbed his head and pushed, bashing his forehead against the steering wheel. "OH!" he groaned, holding his head. He was lucky I didn't use my full strength. "What was that f-"

"You _know_ what that was for," I pointed at him, my eyes conveying my message: _I didn't appreciate you using me to seduce your goaltender into helping us like some delicious piece of meat._ "Now, go. Go!"

* * *

><p>"Stiles, get out of there!" Realization hit me. "Stiles, he's the Alpha!" My heart beat faster and I could hear his beating like a drum solo from inside the hospital.<p>

"Oh my God," I heard him whimper, "I'm gonna die."

I jumped out of the car. Stiles might be a pain in the ass. He might be annoying and he might talk to much and he might be too sarcastic. He might be eyeing up my cousin. I might have threatened him multiple times, but I didn't actually want him to die. I started running.

I elbowed the nurse in the face, knocking her out. "Stiles, get down." For once, he listened to me and dropped down to the ground, crawling to safety. I glowered at my uncle.

The rest of the night is a blur.

* * *

><p>Actually, the next day or two were a blur. Something about Scott, something about Uncle Peter, something about Jackson, something about Scott and Jackson.<p>

I guess that's about the time I snapped back into reality. Scott wouldn't step aside and let me kill Jackson. He said something about packs and my mind switched directions. Uncle Peter may be Alpha, but he wasn't my pack. _We might be bound together, we might be blood, but we are not family. _Marie was my family. Scott and even Stiles were my family. They were my pack.

That's when the bullets started crashing through my destroyed house.

I ordered Scott out of my way and walked out the front door, straight into the line of fire, straight into the Hunter's hands.

* * *

><p>I woke up chained. Chained and shirtless and really pissed off.<p>

And who better to wake up to than the person who burned my family alive?

"Hi, sweetie," she grinned. "You know, I can't get over how much you've grown."

I growled, wolf loose.

"Your little cousin," she cooed, "she's grown, too. I could tell almost immediately that she was one of you. Your eyes, or should I say your wolf eyes...they're just like hers- crazy blue. That poor little one's all alone now." She stepped closer. "But she's not alone, is she? No, no, she's not. She has the other Beta with her, doesn't she?"

I rolled my neck to the side, fighting my keep my head up.

"And Stiles," her voice was fake-sweet, horrible, terrible, "who's he? Allison mentioned him, how little Marie is _pining_ for him. She's staying at his house, isn't she? Allison mentioned that, too. And something about how this boy and Marie slept together."

My head snapped up, eyes electricity blue.

"Funny to think she used to be so innocent," she continued. "I remember watching your family. You loved your little cousin, didn't you? I used to watch you play with her in the clearing. You were such an adorable child, such a cute teenager. You were only- what? -fourteen when the fire happened." Her eyes raked my bare torso. "And look how nicely you grew up."

I dropped my chin to my chest, eyebrows pulling together.

"Oh, do you miss your cousin? Don't worry, sweetie; with any luck, she'll be here with you soon."

I growled, "You're...a bitch, Kate. A sick bitch."

* * *

><p>Marie POV<p>

I watched Lydia run up to Jackson. I left my locker, standing beside her. The look on her face told me that this wasn't good, that this could throw the solar system out of alignment.

"What the hell is this?" my friend demanded.

"I've decided to drop some of the dead weight in my life," Jackson smirked, "and you're just about the deadest."

Lydia's glossed lips broke apart and she breathed in shakily. "You're breaking up with me?"

"Dumping- I'm dumping you."

The wolf inside me bristled at someone hurting my friend. I stepped forward, tucking my arm through hers. "'Dumped'," I rolled my eyes, "but the _co_-captain of the lacrosse team." I smiled at Lydia. "I wonder how many seconds it'll take you to get over-" I looked to Jackson and scanned him, up and down, scrunching up my nose like he was a disgusting bug, "_that."_

Lydia seemed to gain confidence from this and flipped some hair over her shoulder, "Right?"

"I mean," I went on as if he weren't there, "it's not like he was anything special. There are _way_ better looking guys around here. He'll be good-looking when elephants can jump." I smiled at Jackson in a condescending way, "Bye, Jackson."

We strolled away, arm in arm, Lydia holding her head up high. The wolf inside me settled, as my friend was now content, and I grinned. When she ran off to hook her arm through Danny's, I pulled a hand through my hair and giggled. Arms went around my waist, lifting my feet off the ground and spinning me around, Stiles' voice was in my ear: "I saw what you did for Lydia- that was really nice of you."

"I wasn't going to let him hurt my friend."

* * *

><p>"It's Stiles' first game tonight," I explained to Derek, who sat on my bed, watching as I brushed my red velvet tresses. "Allison, Lydia, and I are all going to Lydia's house to hang out before the game. Then, we'll be there to cheer them on."<p>

"You changed your outfit for that?"

I modeled my outfit for him. "No, silly," I rolled my eyes. "I just wanted to try something else on. I love this dress- it's so colorful!" I turned to him. "You should get more colorful clothes, Derek."

He snorted, "I'm good."

I motioned for him to stand up and he did. I walked around him, examining his outfit. Black shirt, black leather jacket, dark wash pants. "Yeah, I guess black does suit you." I looked at the clock and realized I was late. "Oh!"

"Silly little girl," Derek smirked, kissing my forehead. "Go have fun, but be careful."

* * *

><p>"Stiles, what happened?" Scott questioned, staring his friend down.<p>

"We found the Alpha."

"Who is it?"

Stiles ignored Scott and looked at me, his eyebrows drawn together slightly. I touched his arm, "Stiles, who is it?"

He swallowed and made a distressed face:

"Your dad."

* * *

><p>"Where's Derek?" I sat up fro the cocoon of Stiles' arms, pulling away from his chest. Scott was touching his rib, applying pressure. I frowned.<p>

Scott swallowed:

"The Hunters have him."

**That's it for his chapter. I hope it wasn't too confusing.**

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	13. Chapter 13

**Hey, y'all, what's up?**

**So, from here, onward, it's pretty much AU, because the finale is next week and I've kind of caught up with the show. Since I don't know what happens in the finale and I have...plans for something like "Formality," the rest of the story will pretty much be AU. And I'm going to drag things out as much as possible.**

**We own nothing but Marie (not Marie Elaine Cullen, that's a different Marie).**

**Here we go.**

Stiles POV

"Hey, look at that," Scott pointed to the paper sign taped to the wall. It was neon green- all the better to capture attention -and the edges were curling. I raised my eyebrows at him. "The dance is Friday." He turned to me, smirking, and drawled, "You gonna ask _Marie_?" He fluttered his eyelashes.

I pushed his shoulder. "You gonna ask Allison?" I countered. Scott immediately went quiet, biting his lip, and I rolled my eyes. "You know," I ran a hand over my hair, "I think it's kind of funny that you have a kill-crazy Alpha after you, and your wolf-y mentor is being held hostage or has been killed by kill-crazy Hunters, and you're little werewolf ass is worried about a high school dance."

"I'm more worried about Allison," he sighed. "When I'm not with her...it's like a huge hole is where my heart should be."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I smiled, "Don't go all _New Moon _on me."

He snorted, rolling his eyes, shoving my shoulder. We made our way into the cafeteria and sat down, throwing our bags onto the table. "Seriously, though," my best friend lectured. "You should ask Marie to the dance."

"I'd ask her if there was a chance she'd say yes," I shoved a fry into my mouth.

"Stiles," he groaned, biting into his apple, "she _will_ say yes."

I sipped my water, "I don't think it's fair that guys have to ask girls to dances."

"Not necessarily true," Scott pointed out. "Two girls have already asked me-"

"And you said no because you're pining away for Allison," came a voice from behind me. I turned in my chair and Marie was grinning at us before taking her seat at my side. She unscrewed the cap to her lemonade, her eyes flickering between us. "Am I right?"

Scott pushed his fingers through his hair, leaning closer, "Am I really that obvious?"

Marie and I glanced at each other before turning back to him: "Yes."

He groaned, shoulders slumping. "But, anyway, Marie," he suddenly smiled, smirked, a mischievous glint in his eye, "Stiles has something to ask you."

I gave him a look, pressing my lips together, like _what the hell do you think you're doing? Don't do that! I'm going to kill you in your sleep. _Marie had turned to me, looking at my profile expectantly, waiting for whatever I had to ask her. The look on her face was simple, as if, even though we were talking about the dance, my question could be about homework or werewolves.

"It's nothing," I assured her, mentally damning Scott to hell, "microscopic, actually. I'll ask you later."

"Okay!" she smiled, eyes sparkling. "So, anyway, I've been thinking..." she took a sip of her beverage, "and I was wondering what we were going to do about Derek. I mean, the Hunters have him and we just can't leave him for dead."

"Well, technically, we can..." I shrugged. They both looked at me like I was crazy. I quickly hastened to add, "But we won't! I don't want him dead, either!"

Scott sighed, "For all we know, he is dead." Silence engulfed our table; we all stared at the dull color of our lunches. I twisted a fry in my fingers. Scott squeezed his apple tightly in his palm. Mare traced patterns into the condensation on her bottle.

None of us wanted to believe that the older werewolf could be dead. He might be aggressive. He might be vengeful and he might be mean and he might have no respect for personal space. He might have threatened my life multiple times, but I didn't want him dead. I looked to my right and saw Marie's lip trembling just a little bit. I dropped my fry and slid our fingers together, squeezing her hand:

"He's not dead. Derek's stronger than that."

Marie nodded, smiling just a bit. Her grip on my hand was gentle and that, combined with her smile, made my heart skip a little beat. I didn't remember them talking about that in middle school Health Class. Everything else that made us blush and giggle and hate the class, but love it at the same time, yeah, of course I remembered that. But they never told us about skipping heart beats and tingling palms and bugs flying around in my stomach at the thought of asking a girl to a dance. If you ask me, that's what they should've prepared us for.

Scott glanced up, staring beyond us. "Hey, look." He nodded to something behind us. Marie and I turned.

Lydia was standing alone, lunch tray in her hands. She looked over her shoulder to where Jackson and the team were sitting. The look Jackson gave her made it obvious she was no longer welcome at their table. She was no longer Jackson's girlfriend. She had been booted out of the inner circle.

"Oh, Lydia," Marie whimpered, eyebrows drawn together, sorry for her friend.

The blonde's green eyes scanned the cafeteria, seemingly scared to sit with anyone. I pushed my chair away from our table and, gathering my courage, walked over to her. And, of course, being my awkward self, I tripped over the leg of a chair, landing at her feet, embarrassed.

But I went with it, popping up quickly as she stared at me, an incredulous look on her face. "Hey, Lydia," I ran a hand over my hair. "You look lost."

She squared her shoulder, tossing her hair back. "I am not lost."

"If you want," I offered, "you can sit with us- I'm sure Marie would love it." I gestured to our table, where Marie smiled, catching Lydia's eye, and waved.

"Of course I'll sit with you guys," her glossy lips twitched into a smile. "For Marie's sake only, of course."

"Of course," I agreed, and led her back to our table. She sat down across from Marie, beside Scott. Conversation started up again and we were just a rowdy gang of teenagers- instead of an exiled popular girl, a smart-ass with A.D.D, and two werewolves. Marie held my hand under the table. Lydia smiled and gossiped and she looked at me, talked to me, smiled at me.

I found it funny that she started noticing me when I stopped noticing her.

* * *

><p>My jeep bounded down the street, bouncing in potholes. Marie didn't seem to mind, singing along with the radio from the passenger's seat. I don't know how she knew all the words to every song that the station played, but she did. Our hands twined together between our seats.<p>

_I was ridin' shotgun with my hair undone in the front seat of his car_

_He's got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel_

_The other on my heart_

_I look around, turn the radio down_

_He says baby is something wrong?_

_I say nothing I was just thinking how we don't have a song_

_And he says..._

She bobbed her head to the beat, loose hair flying as she turned her head to me and sang.

_Our song is the slamming screen door_

_Sneaking out late, tapping on your window_

_When we're on the phone and you talk real slow_

_'Cause it's late and your mama don't know_

_Our song is the way you laugh_

_The first date "man, I didn't kiss her, and I should have"_

_And when I got home, 'fore I said amen_

_Asking God if he could play it again_

I couldn't help but smile- she seemed so happy, despite everything that was going on.

_I was walking up the front porch steps after everything that day_

_Had gone all wrong and been trampled on_

_And lost and thrown away_

_Got to the hallway, well on my way to my lovin' bed_

_I almost didn't notice all the roses_

_And the note that said..._

She tapped out the beat on the dashboard with her free hand.

_Our Song is the slamming screen door_

_Sneakin' out late, tapping on your window_

_When we're on the phone and you talk real slow_

_'Cause it's late and your mama don't know_

_Our song is the way you laugh_

_The first date "Man, I didn't kiss her, and I should have"_

_And when I got home, 'fore I said amen_

_Asking God if he could play it again_

_I've heard every album listened to the radio_

_Waiting for something to come along that was as good as our song..._

_'Cause our song is the slamming screen door_

_Sneaking out late, tapping on his window_

_When we're on the phone and he talks real slow_

_'Cause it's late and his mama don't know_

_Our song is the way he laughs_

_The first date "man, I didn't kiss him, and I should have"_

_And when I got home, 'fore I said amen_

_Asking God if he could play it again_

_Play it again, play it again_

_oh yeah uh huh yeah_

She smiled at me and I grinned back. Her eyes were dancing.

_I was riding shotgun with my hair undone_

_In the front seat of his car_

_I grabbed a pen and an old napkin_

_And I, wrote down our song..._

We pulled into my driveway as the song ended. I shut off the engine and gave her a round of applause. She giggled and bowed. I laughed and made to get out of the car. She touched my arm, stopping me.

"What is it?"

"Scott said you wanted to ask me something and you said you would later. I figured now is as good a time as any. So, what did you want to ask me?" She wasn't pushing it; if I told her it was nothing, that I changed my mind, she wouldn't make me tell her.

"It's about the dance," I explained.

She nodded, like _go on._

I nodded, sitting back in my seat. "Well, okay. You see- funny thing about dances: you have to ask someone to go...like guys, boys have to ask girls to dances. But that's not right because girls can ask guys, too. And I feel like such a freakin' idiot..." I ran a hand over my hair. "And, for the love of Christ, I suck at this. I feel like I shouldn't be doing this, like it's in my genes not to do it, but, damn it- Marie, you wanna go to the dance with me?"

She stared at me with wide blue eyes.

"Wait!" I bit my lip. "I can do that better!"

She started shaking her head, "No, Stiles, you don't-"

I took a deep breath, cutting her off. "Marie, will you please go to the dance with me?"

"Stiles..." she sighed, pushing her red velvet bangs out of her eyes.

I turned away, putting my hands back on the steering wheel. "It's okay- you don't have to go with me." I turned back to face her, shrugged my shoulders." I mean, I completely understand if you don't want to and-"

My eyes widened in surprise.

Her small, warm hands were on either side of my neck. She was leaning, stretching over the abyss between the seats to reach me, to press against me, to kiss me. Her lips were against mine.

_Finally._

My fingers slipped into her hair, pulling her closer. It was fantastic, to finally be kissing her. It was warm and sweet and amazing. I thought my body would be shaking, raked with tremors, with the way my heart was pounding, with the way my blood was thumping in my veins. But only my breath was shaking as we broke apart and came together again, smiling into the kiss.

When we pulled away completely, the timing of our kisses seeming much too short but also so long, I couldn't help but grin as we caught our breath.

"Yes," she said, raking her fingers through her hair, pulling it away from her blushing face. I furrowed my eyebrows, confused. She giggled, breathless- I was proud I could take her breath away. "Yes, I want to go to the dance with you."

I grinned, nodding, smile stretching my lips. "Cool."

Some time later, my dad's squad car pulled in behind us and I realized how long we had actually just sat in the car. "What are you two still doing out here?"

"Just talking," Marie replied, taking his hand as he helped her from the jeep. "Did you know there's a dance Friday?"

"No; you kids going?" He led us into the house. We walked side-by-side behind him.

Marie grinned at me, giggling, "Yeah, I am. I can't wait to go dress shopping! I'll have to call Lydia." She looked to me. "What about you, Stiles?"

"I think I might go," I winked. Our hands twined together- but, this time, it had a whole new meaning.

**THEY KISSED! THEY KISSED!**

**I was going to drag it out a bit, like she didnt kiss him, but said yes. But then I remembered how wonderful you've all been and I figured I'd give you this treat as a thank-you for how absolutely amazing you all have been to me. We've passed 150 reviews and my mind has been blown. I can't thank you enough.**

**Aaaaand...I don't own "Our Song." That's Taylor Swift's. Oh, I went to he concert last Saturday and she was amazing! and Stiles asking Marie to the dance was inspired by Dylan O'Brien's Youtube video "Prom."**

**I hope you all loved it.**

**Reviews are love : )**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey, y'all, what's up?**

**MY DEAR READERS! SO MANY REVIEWS! I CAN HARDLY HANDLE ALL THE LOVE! You have no idea how grateful I feel when I log onto my email and there's one from Fanfiction, telling me I have new reviews. Thank you all so much.**

**So, AU from now on.**

**We own nothing but Marie (not Marie Elaine Cullen, that's a different Marie).**

**Here we go.**

Marie POV

"So, did you guys hear about the dance Friday?" Allison asked.

Lydia and I looked up from our homework. We were in Allison's room, bags thrown near the door, shoes by the desk. My blonde friend and I occupied the bed, books spread across the end, feet at Allison's pillows. My dark-haired friend was at her desk, typing up an essay on her computer.

"Um, yeah," I smiled. "I've heard."

"Of course we've heard- every one's talking about it," Lydia took a bite of her granola bar. "The question is whether or not we're going."

I doodled a star in my notebook. "I'm going." I felt my cheeks heat up. "Stiles asked me to go with him." I didn't look up when they 'oooh'-ed teasingly. "So, I'm going to need you guys to go dress shopping with me..."

"I'm going, too, maybe," Allison announced. She glanced at Lydia and then away, back to her computer screen. "Jackson asked me."

We sat in strained silence. I looked back and forth between them like a child watching its parents fight. Finally, Lydia broke the silence: "You can go with him, Allison. I don't even care if you go with him. He's not anything special and he's shit at kissing." I nodded in encouragement, smiling at both of them.

"So, dress shopping-" Allison started as the door creaked open.

"Dress shopping?" Aunt Kate questioned, placing her drink-covered tray on a cardboard box beside Allison's bed. "Why do you girls need to go dress shopping?" We opened our mouths to answer, but she beat us to it. "Wait; don't tell me. Huge dance plus cute boys equals new dresses. Am I right?"

I wanted to glare at her, to wolf-out and rip my claws into her jugular, to make her pay for killing my family, but I didn't. I smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I so-o-o excited."

"I don't need a dress because no one asked me," Lydia sighed before rolling her shoulders and flipping her hair. "But I don't even want to go to the dance, so it works out even better."

Allison sighed, rolling her eyes. I pouted, "C'mon, Lydia. You _have_ to go. It won't be any fun without you there. We'll find you a date." I tapped my chin with my pencil and thought. "I'm sure Danny would go with you as friends."

"Danny's bringing his boyfriend," Allison lifted a cup off the tray.

"Oh! I know! Scott doesn't have a date! You can go with him!" I smiled and clapped my hands together like this solved all problems.

Allison's grin was forced, "Yeah, you could. You already know you like kissing him."

"Okay," Lydia's lips turned up in the corners, "I'll give him a call."

"If you girls want," Kate smirked, "we can ditch the homework and I'll take you all shopping now?" She opened her hands like she was offering us the world.

Needless to say, we jumped at the chance.

Grabbing our purses, throwing our books back into our backpacks, we pulled on our shoes and followed her to the door. She went to get her checkbook- "Don't worry, girls, it's on me" -I listened closely to the heartbeats in the house, wondering if she had a heart. Allison's dad was taking a nap upstairs, heart slow; Allison's mom was baking in the kitchen, heart rate normal, a steady rhythm; Allison and Lydia were pumped up, their hearts beating just a little faster than usual; Kate's heartbeat was normal, too.

But there was another one. There was no one else in the house, but there was another heartbeat- slow, tired, drained, coming from beneath our feet. I looked at the floor and frowned. "Allison? Do you have a basement?"

She shrugged, "Don't know, don't care. Why?"

"No reason," I answered as Kate came back, checkbook in hand. As we walked out the door, I couldn't help but stop and listen to the hidden heartbeat. It gave me a strange, wonderful sense of comfort.

I sighed and shut the door behind me.

* * *

><p>I stepped out of the dressing room, spinning around. The purple skirt lifted slightly, puffing out as I twirled. "What do you think?" I struck a pose, pursing my lips like an over-exaggerated model. Lydia laughed, catching my face as she came out of her dressing room in a tight black dress.<p>

"I like it," Allison commented, holding her dress close to her body. It was silver, shiny, and tight with one shoulder strap. "You look like Ariel from _The Little Mermaid._" In response to that, I swayed my hips, hands above my head:

"Under the sea, under the sea..."

We laughed, a group of giddy girls. Kate smiled, coming close to me, reaching her hands out to tighten the dark purple ribbon under my bust. "I don't know," she commented, looking me over. I hated her scrutiny. "Maybe something more like..." she turned to the rack of dresses and pulled off a pink, sparkly dress, placing it in my hands, "this."

I smiled, and into the dressing room I went. Purple dress off, pink dress on. I looked in the mirror and- even though I loathed to admit it -Kate picked out the perfect dress. It was tight and glittery at the top, slightly puffing out and loose from my hips, a big, fluffy bow resting on my right hip. It went well with my complexion and my bright hair color didn't clash. I looked great.

"How's it look?" Lydia called.

I smiled at myself in the mirror, "I love it. This is the one I want."

"Then get out here," Kate ordered, "and we'll find shoes to match!"

* * *

><p>I dropped my shopping bag in my room, sighing. Immediately, there was a Stiles at my door, smiling, leaning against the door frame. "Where have you been all day?"<p>

"Shopping for a dress," I explained.

"Ooh, can I see?" he reached for the bag. I slapped his hand:

"Not until the dance. But, just so you know, it's very pink."

He grinned, "Wait until Scott hears I'm wearing a pink tie."

* * *

><p>Lydia and I looked in the mirror, finishing last-minute touches on our makeup. she reached over and tugged on the curled ends of my hair, making sure they were as bouncy as me. I grabbed her bangles out of her bag and handed them to her.<p>

"Ready?" she questioned, shaking her wrist to get the bangles comfortable.

I nodded. Together, we climbed down the stairs, our heels click-clacking with every step. Stiles and Scott looked up from their conversation- something about a video game -and stood. Stiles smiled, tugging on his black suit jacket. I giggled at his pink tie. Scott and Lydia begrudgingly climbed into the car Scott borrowed from his mother while Stiles and I slid into his jeep. "Here," at a stop sign, Stiles took off his suit jacket and handed it to me. "Put that on."

"Why?" I tilted my head to the side, doing as he said.

"Because," he explained, "if I keep looking at you, we're gonna be in an accident. And I don't want to explain that to my dad. 'Oh, well, you see, we slammed into that car because I was too busy staring at Marie.' It wouldn't go over well." He smiled at me. "I can't even explain how you look tonight."

"Try."

He snorted, "Fishing for compliment, eh? Okay. You look... beautiful. Amazing. Like the opposite of Ugly Betty. Spectacular. Extraordinary. Like Rose looks to Jack. Like a female Orlando Bloom. You're glowing more than a Light Saber."

"Ooh," I teased. "Star Wars jokes. Attractive."

"...I don't know...you look beautiful."

I blushed, giggling. "You don't look too bad yourself."

We pulled into the school parking lot. He helped me out of the jeep and I gave him back his jacket, taking his arm. When we walked inside, different colored lights were flashing, decorations were shining, and bodies were already moving. The music made the whole room throb. Stiles tugged me closer to him, out of somebody's way, and we made our way through the maze of people to a table.

_Hate to stare, but you're winning, _

_and they're playing my favorite song_

_So come here, a little closer, _

_wanna whisper in your ear_

_make it clear, little question, _

_wanna know just how you feel_

I grabbed his sleeve, leaning close so he could hear me. "Let's dance!" He nodded, taking my hand and leading me to the dance floor. His hands went to my hips, pulling me close- not close enough to be pressed together, but close enough that he was all I could see. As we moved with the music, I laughed, hands reaching up above my head.

_If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?_

'_Cause you feel like paradise_

_and I need a vacation tonight_

That song ended, and another and another, before changing to something much slower, much more peaceful. We hesitated slightly before his arms were around my waist, my hands on his shoulders, my face buried in his neck.

_And count the stars to form the lines_

_And find the words we'll sing in time_

_I wanna keep her dreaming_

_It's my one wish_

_I won't forget this_

_I'm outdated_

_Overrated_

_Morning seems so far away_

I inhaled deeply, taking in his scent. He pressed his cheek against my head, holding me closer. I closed my eyes.

_So I'll sing_

_A melody_

_And hope to God she's listening_

_Sleeping softly while I sing_

_And I'll be your memories_

_Your Lullaby for all the times_

_Hoping that my voice can get it right_

_If Luck is on my side tonight_

_A clumsy tongue will make it right_

_And wrists could touch_

_It isn't much_

_But it's enough_

"Oh," he sighed. I lifted my head, eyebrows furrowed, eyes questioning. He nodded over my shoulders. I looked. Lydia was standing alone on the edge of the dance floor, eyes cast down, lip trembling. I looked to my right, where Scott and Allison were dancing, lips pressed together. I pulled Stiles down to my height and softly ordered:

"Go ask her to dance."

He raised his eyebrows at me. "I couldn't leave you-"

"I have to go to the bathroom, anyway. And it's not fair she has to stand alone. Go, ask her." I pushed him forward. He smiled and took my face in his hands, brushing his lips against mine. My eyes fluttered closed. When they opened and he pulled away, I watched him extend his hand to my friend and pull her close, swaying slightly to the beat.

I stepped out, venturing into the bathroom. I washed my hands and inspected my makeup. I was running a hand through my hair when someone stepped out of the stall. I looked up into the mirror, spotting my company. Eyes with a soulless depth, cruel smirk, handbag with a gun holding Wolfsbane bullets inside. My heart stopped.

"Kate."

She smiled, that motherly smile, but her eyes were cold. "Aw, Marie," she cooed, "you look so pretty. I knew you'd look fantastic in that dress."

I spun around, facing her. "Thanks."

"Now, sweetheart," she came closer, "I know someone who would _love_ to see how pretty you look. If you come with me, they'll be so thrilled to see you all dolled up. What do you say?"

I swallowed, wolf inside me bristling. "I can't leave," I looked to the door, "my date will-"

"Be dancing with Lydia? Did you notice that he didn't put up much of a fight to stay with you? Hasn't he been in love with Lydia since third grade? Think about it, Marie. She's single and vulnerable. And, no matter what he says, you know he still has feelings for her. He wanted you when he couldn't get her. But now he can. He only wanted you because he couldn't have her. When Lydia didn't want him, you were his second choice."

My lip trembled. She touched my arm:

"Oh, sweetie, I know it hurts. We all go through heartbreak, don't we? It hurts so badly. If you come with me, I know someone who will make you feel better."

I looked at her. I didn't trust her, but wasn't she right? Stiles admitted to liking Lydia and then tried to kiss me. I was just a stand-in until he could get something better. I didn't care if she was going to kill me. Derek was- in all honesty - most likely dead, Stiles didn't want me, my heart was broken. I had nothing.

I nodded. "Okay."

**OOOH! Marie is going with Kate! :O**

**What will happen next? **

**Actually, it's not a mystery to me, since I have it all planned out. **

**This seemed really short writing it, but it's 5 pages. I was going to keep going, but I figured I could change POV in the next chapter and make it more interesting. :D**

"**Hold It Against Me" :: Brittany Spears**

"**I Swear This Time I Mean It" :: Mayday Parade**

**Did you like it?**

**Reviews are love : )**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hellooooooooo (I tried to make that like an echo...)**

**So, everybody hates Kate now? *smiles* That's how it seems, from the reviews I've been getting. Did you notice we passed 170? Less than 30 away from 200! *faints* I can hardly handle my excitement! This has been absolutely wonderful. I don't think I've ever had kinder or more loyal readership. Thanks. : )**

**This one is half-Kate, half-Stiles.**

**We own nothing but Marie (not Marie Elaine Cullen, that's a different Marie).**

**Here we go.**

Kate POV

"Where are we going?" the little were-girl asked as I pulled her along behind me. Then, she giggled a bit. "Ha! My voice echoes down here! I knew there was a basement under the house. But, where are we going?"

I gave her a smile. "Don't worry, sweetie. I'm just taking you to see the person I told you about."

After hesitating slightly, she nodded. "Okay." A smile. "I feel like I should've let Stiles know I was leaving. What if he's looking for me and he thinks I ditched him?" Her face dropped. "Oh, I don't want him to think I don't like him!"

"Honey," I rolled my eyes, forcing my voice to sound sweet, "he's probably busy with Lydia. He probably hasn't noticed you're gone. Just relax. Everything will work out-" _according to the plan._

"Okay," she answered. I looked over my shoulder. Her eyes were big and trusting. Did I ever look that innocent? I doubted it. "You know," she murmured, "it's, like, super-dark down here. You should put some overhead lights in, so you can see where you're going."

We came to a large set of doors. I smirked at her, hand on the handle. I opened the door and gestured inside. She took a tentative step inside, her silver heels making small sounds against the floor as she looked around at everything, hands fidgeting. I shut the door, locking it, and led her through various tables and machines. "Here we are," I sighed. "Ready?" She nodded. I flicked on the lights. She gasped. I smirked, "Isn't he beautiful?"

"Derek!" she cried, pink-frosted lips gaping.

"What a lovely little toy you make, my dear," I ran my hand along Derek's sweaty abdomen as I passed, "you look divine." I went to the control box, hand on the dial.

He growled, eyes glowing blue, fangs elongated, roaring. "YOU!" he whipped his head around to me. "She has _no place _here! How dare you bring her here! When I get my hands on you, I'll rip you limb fro-"

He seized up as I turned the dial, his body spasming. "Stop it!" Marie screamed, covering her eyes. "Can't you see you're hurting him? Stop it!" I did as she requested, sighing heavily. Derek panted, eyes screwed shut, chest heaving.

"What's the matter, Derek?" I cooed. _Things are working out according to my ultimate design. _"You don't want her to see you like this- weak, pathetic, beaten down?" I laughed, turning the dial again. He spasmed, jerking around. Instead of weeping like I expected, Marie was suddenly beside me. She shoved her fist through the control box.

Derek stopped jerking. The little were-girl pulled her hand back, wires in her palm, glaring at me. She opened her mouth to speak and I glimpsed the sharp, long canines. "I will not let you hurt my family anymore," she growled, a demon doll. "Where are the keys to his chains?" I silently pointed to the edge of the table where the keys were resting.

She dropped the wires, grasping the keys in her slim fingers. I drew my gun- loaded with Wolfsbane bullets -and pointed it at the girl's head. She whirled around with inhuman speed, grabbing the gun and ripping it out of my hands with strength that shocked me. In all my years as a Hunter, not one of the beasts had managed to get the upper hand. She held the gun against my forehead.

"Sweetheart," I smiled, "don't kill me- you can't. You would tear a family apart for your own selfish reasons? For Allison's sake, for your own sake, don't kill me." I was pleading, I knew, and I mentally scolded myself as to beg a cub not to kill me.

She laughed spitefully, "You call us monsters, but you're the real monster. You tell me not to rip apart your family, but you could do it to me. And you're crying now? I don't have enough tears for what you've done to me and Derek. You're the monster."

"Then kill me, by all means," I bowed my head in submission, mind already having a frantic plan completed that would have me come out on top. What I hadn't prepared for was the sound of chains hitting the ground and Derek Hale's bare chest appearing before me.

"Do it, Derek," Marie voiced from behind him. "I can't, but you can."

I looked up, placing my hands on his bare torso, trailing them down slowly. If I was going to die, I light as well have some fun beforehand. His hand grasped my throat, claws digging into my flesh, drawing blood. "Tell the devil I said hello," he hissed through clenched teeth.

His claws dug in deeper, tearing, and pain shot through my entire body.

Everything went black.

* * *

><p>Stiles POV<p>

I sat outside in my jeep.

"Man, come back inside," Scott climbed in the passenger side. "You can dance with anyone you want, drink as much punch as you want, and, hell, maybe Jackson will let you have some of the whiskey in that flask he's trying to hide under his suit. Just stop moping."

I sighed, resting my forehead against the steering wheel. "She left, Scott. She just up and left. In the middle of the dance. I just...you know, I just thought she liked me, too. But I guess I was wrong, eh?" My eyes stung a little bit and I clenched my jaw, refusing to cry. "I guess you were right that one full moon, Scott- why would anyone want me?"

"Stiles," he put his hand on my shoulder, "I saw the way she looked at you. She definitely felt the same way. And I'm sure she'll be back. So come inside and dance your ass off."

"Nah," I shook my head. "I think I'll just go home and spend the night with my dad. If she wants to see me, she knows where I live." As I expected, he just nodded, letting it go, climbing out of the car, and waved through the window. I sped off.

When I walked through the door, my dad was on the couch, watching some old movie that probably only played on TV. "Hey," I took off my suit jacket and dropped it to the floor, plopping down beside him. "What're you watching?"

"Why are you home so early? Where's Marie?" he questioned. I shook my head, screwing my eyes shut, biting my lip. He frowned. "Stiles, what's wrong?"

A tear slipped down my cheek and I groaned. _Screw it. _"Daddy," I whimpered, even though I hadn't called him that since I was, like, six, "Daddy, she left. She just left. She said she was going to the bathroom and she didn't come back. And I thought she liked me and I pretty much fell in frickin' love with her and I feel like an idiot and now I'm crying like a girl."

He pulled me into a hug, "Oh, Stiles..."

"You were right, Dad, about love and life," I told him. "Life sucks and it does terrible things, like make you fall in love. And everything just crushes your heart, which is probably why they call it a crush. I never want to be in love if this is how it feels."

"It doesn't always feel like this, son," he cooed, "not always. Most of the time it's wonderful and new and fantastic and magical and everything anyone has ever dreamed of. It's like a roller coaster, to resort to cliches. But, as high as the highs are, the lows match them in their sucky-ness."

I nodded against his shoulder. "I'm gonna go to bed, but thanks for talking to me." I stood and made my way upstairs. I was about to go into my bedroom when I saw a light glowing from under the door of the guest bedroom. I stopped, and heard a fair amount of whispers and soft thumps. I opened the guest room's door.

Derek was on the bed, shirtless. Marie was beside him, washcloth in hand. His muscles tensed when she touched the damp cloth to half-healed wounds. He jolted, suddenly, as she touched a tender spot. "Stop moving," she whispered.

"It hurts," he hissed, biting his lip.

"If you would stop moving, it wouldn't hurt so much," she countered softly, sighing. She brushed her hair away from her face. I noticed that her pink dress had what looked suspiciously like blood splattered across it. "Oh, Derek...what did that woman do to you?"

"It doesn't matter," he answered. "She's taken care of and she'll never hurt either of us again. We don't have to worry about her anymore. Our family's murder has been avenged."

Her eyes dropped to the floor, "Now we just have to avenge Laura." He nodded. She shook her head and went back to cleaning him up. "Maybe by the time we face Daddy, I'll have the strength to do it myself."

Derek never looked up, just stared at the cloth touching his arm. "What do you think, Stiles?"

I straightened up, "I think I should know what the hell is going on here."

"We don't need to worry about Kate Argent anymore," Marie stated.

"She's been taken care of," Derek cracked his neck.

"You mean...she's dead?" I asked, realizing what the blood on her dress meant. I also realized that all the blood on Derek's torso wasn't necessarily his. It was a strange feeling, acknowledging that two people I counted as friends had killed someone. They nodded. I sighed. "Okay. So now for the Alpha..."

"Stiles," Marie cut me off. I looked up. "I'm sorry I left you at the dance. Kate just...she cornered me and kind of tricked me and I left with her. I felt horrible...but we saved Derek! And got rid of one of our problems-"

I shrugged, "It's fine."

"I heard you crying to your dad downstairs," Derek noted.

"I really am sorry, Stiles." She turned to her cousin. "Could you give us a minute?" He nodded and we stepped into the hallway. "I don't want you to think I don't like you, because I do, I really do like you, Stiles."

I smiled slightly, "You had to do what you had to do." Marie nodded, her big blue eyes shining. She threw her arms around my neck and I tugged her closer, burying my nose in her red-velvet hair. "And, by the way," I whispered, "I really like you, too."

**Not too long, sorry:(**

**But: **_**ding, dong, the witch is dead!**_** Yeah, Kate's gone. **

**Don't worry, they still have plenty of issues to resolve. Like the Alpha. And what to do with Derek. And Jackson. And Lydia. And Allison. And how the Argents take Kate's death. Won't this be fun?**

**I hope you all liked the strong Marie, to make up for her going along with Kate. I drew inspiration for her sudden unexpected ability and strength from Claudia from **_**Interview With The Vampire**_** because Marie's a wolf, gosh darn it, she can't be weak. **

**And Kate's cruelty was drawn from the villains in Disney movies like Scar and Ursula and Jafar.**

**I hoped you like it, despite it's relative short-ness.**

**Reviews are love : )**


	16. Chapter 16

**EVERYONE!**

**Did anyone notice WE PASSED 200 REVIEWS? Because I sure did and I'm pretty sure my life is complete! Thank you all so much!**

**On the other hand, my friend Amanda, who's like my Teen Wolf helper because she bounces ideas with me and helps me keep my head on straight, HASN'T BEEN ANSWERING MY TEXTS. And I'm sure there's a good reason, like she lost her phone, but- for now -I'm all alone with my tornado of thoughts.**

**We own nothing but Marie (not Marie Elaine Cullen, that's a different Marie).**

**Here we go.**

Derek POV

Marie and Stiles came back into the guest room, acting like I hadn't heard every word they'd said in the hallway. Marie joined me on the bed, picking up the wet washcloth again and tending to the wounds on my body. She took my hands and cleared my nails of dried blood, not even blinking an eyelash as she surely remembered my claws ripping into Kate's throat. My cousin acted as if she was taking an ugly color of nail polish off my nails.

"So..." Stiles drawled, hovering near the doorway.

"Is your father on patrol tonight?" I asked, rolling my shoulders. My muscles were strained and I was ready to collapse.

He shook his head, "No. He'll leave at about six, seven in the morning unless he gets a call, which, you know, is kind of likely, what with a kill-crazy Alpha running around." He closed the door and sat on the floor beside the bed, stretching out his legs.

"We'll get to him, soon," Marie assured, turning my hand over to clean my palm. "God," she whispered, eyebrows drawing together, "there's so much blood."

"It's all over your dress, too," I pointed out. She looked down, eyes widening, like she hadn't even realized that our revenge was on her, too, not just on me. The towel dropped onto my lap and her pink nails smoothed over the stained and I watched her as she touched the dried blood warily, as if she were afraid something horrible would happen if she touched the stains too much.

She shrugged, picking the towel back up and rubbing at my palm again. "Oh, well," she sang, "I didn't even like this dress much, anyway." She smiled up at me and my tired lips tweaked into a small grin.

"That's too bad," Stiles cut in. I turned my head. I had almost forgotten he was there. "Because you looked amazing tonight." He smiled. Marie blushed and laughed:

"Glowing like a Light Saber?"

His smile widened, nodding, "Let's not talk about that."

I raised my eyebrows, not following the exchange. "So, what happened after I left the dance?" she asked, turning her attention to my wrists, where the cuffs had dug into my skin. I hissed when she pressed the cloth against them.

"Nothing too bad," Stiles rolled his eyes. "Jackson got trashed, which was funny as hell. It stopped being hilarious when he threw up in Allison's purse- she probably needs a new phone. Of course, Coach kicked him out. He'll probably be suspended from the team for a bit. Uh, I met Danny's boyfriend- he was really nice. It was kind of weird, especially when he asked Danny if he should be watching his back because Danny and I are lab partners, which I took as him thinking I'm attractive- not that that's a bad thing. I appreciate being thought of as attractive. Um, Lydia's shoe broke while we were dancing and she fell on her ass, which I'm sure was super-embarrassing for her-"

"Did you even notice Marie was gone?" I growled. He flinched slightly.

"Of course I noticed she was gone- that's why I left early. All of this happened while I thought she was in the bathroom."

I was about to retort when Marie cut me off: "It's getting late. We should all go to sleep."

Stiles nodded, standing up. He looked at us as if unsure what to do. Finally, he raised his hand in something resembling a wave: "Night."

"Good night," Marie smiled, placing the bloody rag in her hamper. I nodded my acknowledgement, laying back against the pillows, closing my eyes. Stiles left, his bedroom door closing behind him. I could hear him curing softly while trying to un-knot his tie.I heard the fabric of Marie's blood-stained dress hit the floor. She muttered about wasted money as she pulled on her pajamas.

She crawled in beside me, turning her back to me. She grinned over her shoulder: "Good night, Derek."

I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back against my chest, yawning, "Good night, Marie. Sweet dreams."

"Are made of this?" she giggled. I smiled and shook my head, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>"YOU!"<p>

I woke up to a scream. Which was fantastic, if you don't like to sleep in. As it stands, I love to sleep in, especially on Saturdays, because the rest of the time I'm up early to babysit a group of teenagers. I really wanted to stay in the dark dreamland behind my eyelids that particular Saturday because, previously, I had been chained up like some kind of criminal and tortured. Either way, like it or not, I was awoken by a loud, manly cry from the doorway.

I jolted up- screams usually meant Alpha attack -and took in my surroundings. I was in the guest room of Stiles' house. The Sheriff was standing before me, gun drawn. _Oh, cool._ Marie as running from the bathroom; Stiles had appeared in the doorway, lacrosse stick in hand. _Dumb ass, what's that gonna do against a werewolf? _

"What? What?" Stiles panicked. He spotted me and mouthed "_Shit!"_ Marie was by him in an instant, grabbing his bicep, mouth open in concern. He pointed to me and her eyes widened, finally realizing the severity of the situation.

I made to step forward, and the Sheriff pressed his gun against my bare chest. Looking down at the cold metal, I realized I still had blood stained across my torso. I looked even more like a murderer. _Great. _I caught Stiles' eye over his father's shoulder, begging him to do something. He glanced around frantically, looking for something, anything that could help in the situation.

Thankfully, the Sheriff's radio buzzed, someone telling him to come to the Argent's because the woman, Kate, had been found dead. He took his eyes off me for only a second, about to tell them something along the lines of _well, I caught Derek Hale, _and I took the opportunity, slipping out the open window with practiced ease.

* * *

><p>Allison POV<p>

I sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in my hands. "Dad?" I stared into my warm, caffeinated beverage. "There are werewolves, aren't there?"

He looked at me, "Allison, don't be silly."

"There are, aren't there? Derek Hale is one. Kate had him chained up in the basement, didn't she? That's how she died, right? He got free and attacked her." I pushed my hair out of my eyes and stared at him. "Dad, don't lie to me. I'm right, aren't I? There are werewolves and werewolf hunters. You're a Hunter, and so was Kate. Derek Hale killed her when he broke free."

"Allison," he sighed, "yes, yes, you're mostly right. But Derek didn't break free- his chains had been released, meaning someone let him free. And Kate was definitely killed by a werewolf, but we have no proof it was Hale."

I nodded, "So there are more of them here?"

He turned away, "Yes, sweetie. At least two more than Hale. Maybe it was one of them that snuck in and let him free, but I wonder how they would've gotten passed us. Unless...it was someone in the house..." He looked to me.

"You think I let him go?" my eyes widened. "Why would I do that?"

"I'm not accusing, Allison. I'm just trying to figure out who let him go."

"Well," I chewed on my lip, "Derek has a cousin- her name's Marie. She's been here before. Is she a- is she like him?"

He nodded, "Most likely. Hale is a born wolf, not infected, so- if she's his cousin -it's safe to say she's a werewolf, too. The gene usually doesn't skip anyone."

I sighed, "She left the dance early." He looked up at me. "Last night, at the dance, she told her date she was going to the bathroom and never came back. She just left. Stiles was crushed. No one could find her. Maybe...maybe she snuck in and let Derek go...and then killed Kate."

"It's possible."

"But but she's my friend," I sighed. "She couldn't- she wouldn't..."

"Allison," Dad cut me off, "Werewolves are animals. Friends mean nothing to them. Their pack is what matters. Attachment is to their pack, no one else. They'll kill as revenge, to protect their pack, or just for kicks. I wouldn't put it passed a werewolf, Allison."

I focused on my coffee again.

* * *

><p>"Marie," I grabbed her arm as she walked down the hallway on Monday.<p>

She spun around, "Oh, Allison, it's you." She sighed in relief. "For a second, I thought you were Jackson trying to ambush me again." She giggled, clutching the strap of her bag. She frowned when I didn't respond. "What's wrong?"

"I know what you are."

"Excuse me?"

"I know what you are."

Her eyebrows pulled together, stepping away. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I stepped closer, glaring at her. "I know you're a werewolf. I know you came into my house and let your beast of a cousin free. And I know you're the one who killed my aunt." She stared at me with huge blue eyes that shined with innocence. What was I doing? She was my friend.

"I didn't kill your Aunt. But she deserved what she got. That woman was the worst kind of evil and deserved to be punished," Marie whimpered, voice getting stronger as she spoke.

My eyes widened. "So you let Derek Hale go. And you _are _a werewolf!"

She glanced around, rubbing her arm, "Allison, I couldn't leave him there. When Kate took me down to your basement...dungeon...whatever it is- when she took me down there, I couldn't leave him there to be tortured by your aunt. I couldn't leave him to die. He didn't do anything to deserve it. He's a good person!"

"He's the one behind all of the murders! He tried to kill us!"

"No, he didn't," she insisted. "You may have figured out some things, but there's so much more to this than you know. I can't tell you."

I scoffed, "Apartently, you can't tell me a lot of things."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it's not exactly something I tell people. No one like me does. My parents didn't tell, Derek's parents didn't tell, our grandparents didn't tell. It's a secret. How else are we supposed to live like normal people?"

"You're not normal. You're an animal," I hissed. Her lips parted and she drew in a shakey breath:

"And that's why we don't tell people."

"Did you tell Stiles?"

She shook her head, "He knew before I was here."

My eyebrows furrowed, "Why was he graced with the knowledge?"

"Because he was helping Scott with it. If it wasn't for Stiles, Scott wouldn't have had any guidance. But then they found out about Derek, and he started helping Scott with it. And then Derek brought me in to help, too, and-"

"Wait," I held up a hand to stop her, "what does Scott have to do with this?"

She eyes widened as realization about something dawned on her. "Nothing. Scott has nothing to do with it-"

"He's one, too, isn't he?" My heart beat faster. "Scott's a werewolf, too."

"Allison," Marie bit her lip, "don't jump to conclusions."

"I'm right, though, aren't I?"

She looked away, "It's not my secret to tell. Ugh, God! You ask more questions than Jackson! And he's been hounding us all about it."

"Jackson? What does he have to do with it?"

Hesitating, she sighed, "He knows; he figured it out. He wants to be like us, so he can be the lacrosse star again. Please, Allison, stop asking questions. Let's just pretend this never happened."

I rolled y eyes, "I can't pretend this never happened- not after you killed my aunt."

"I didn't kill her," Marie insisted. "I didn't have the strength. But, I promise, when we face our real rival, I won't be so weak." She turned on her heel and walked away,running into Lydia and hooking her arm through our friend's.

I stood there, wondering who the real rival could be.

**So, once again, not very long, sorry:(**

**This chapter wasn't very interesting, either. More of a filler before real drama and action and romance start up again. It was really just Allison finding out and some more stress for Derek. Why do I torture him so?**

**Either way, short or long, interesting or not, I hope you all enjoyed it.**

**Reviews are love : )**


	17. Chapter 17

**EVERYONE!**

**So, the finale is tonight. Who's excited? And, soon enough, not right away, but soon enough, this story will be ending. The ending has been planned- it's the in between we have to get straight. But the last words have already been chosen.**

**Thank you all so much for all the reviews. : ) They really make my day.**

**We own nothing but Marie (not Marie Elaine Cullen, that's a different Marie).**

**Here we go.**

Jackson POV

Teasing Stiles Stilinski had always been a favorite pastime of mine.

Since we were little, back in kindergarten, I'd loved to tease him. I would rally a team of thugs- or as close to thugs you can get in a kindergarten class -and force him to eat paste or poke fun at how he could never pay attention.

In third grade- when we all thought girls were icky and the best way to avoid cooties was to pull their pigtails and make them hate you -I proved my worth to the other boys by stealing Lydia's cookie at snack time and calling her gross. He admitted he didn't think girls were icky and split his granola bar with her. We called him a sissy for the rest of the year and threw crumpled-up notes at him in class, little valentines asking him to be ours.

We were in about sixth grade when his mom died. My thugs and I saw this as another way to emotionally scar him, asking after his mother and teasing him about his red, puffy eyes. Scott tried to protect him, pulling him in the opposite direction, but that didn't stop Mother's Day from coming. It also didn't stop us from filling his locker with scathing, mocking cards addressed to his mother. Danny told me to stop, because how would I feel if my mom died? I told him I wouldn't care because I was adopted and she wasn't my real mom anyway. He told me to get my head out of my ass- the first time I'd ever heard him curse -and we didn't speak for two weeks.

High school started. We tried out for the lacrosse team, for eternal glory. Stiles didn't make it to tryouts because I had shoved his small body in a locker, trapping him. For the second day of tryouts, I'd taped him to a toilet seat in one of the bathroom stalls.

After the dance, I thought I'd be mature and not poke fun at the fact that his date had left- seeing as I puked my guts into my date's purse.

That plan backfired as soon as I saw him.

"Hey, Stilinski!"

He pulled his fingers away from his locker just in time to avoid them being crushed. He turned to looked at me, puppy-dig eyes annoyed, mouth set in a thin line. "What the hell do you want, Jackson?"

"I was just wondering," I smirked, "how it felt when you're date ran away like you were some hideous beast? Not that I blame her- I'd run away, too, if I had to be that close to you."

"I was just wondering," he countered, "how it feels to be the school's biggest ass that isn't known for his skills in lacrosse, but for throwing up in his date's purse and getting kicked out of the dance? Not that I blame you- I'd throw up, too, if I had to see that in the mirror everyday."

I drew back, still never used to retaliation from him. "Growing some balls, Stilinski?" I showed him my teeth in a wide smile. "You might just become a real boy."

"Unfortunately, you still have no chance at becoming a real human being."

"You better watch you back," I shoved his shoulders; he hit his locker, slamming into the metal. "You forget that I know the big secret. I know what Scott is, I know what Hale is, and I know what your little girlfriend is and I won't hesitate to tell if you cross me."

His answer was a muttered, "She's not really my girlfriend."

I raised my eyebrows, "I thought you guys were together?"

"No," he rolled his shoulders, "not really."

"You like her, right?" I leaned in like I had a secret to tell. "I mean, who wouldn't? She's so naive, so innocent, she wouldn't know when to say stop. And she's too sweet to stop someone, anyway. Just imagine all the things you could get away with. If you're not together...I might just have to try my luck with her, eh?" I winked.

Ooh, he looked pissed. His jaw was clenched, fists tightened. I smirked.

"Maybe I'll just throw her up against the wall and start kissing her," I shrugged, walking away.

I looked over my shoulder. He faced his locker, glaring at the metal door as if it had personally offended him. He slammed his fist against it. I grinned.

Old habits die hard.

* * *

><p>"Stiles," Marie run up to him, grabbing his arm. "I have to tell you something."<p>

He nodded, "I need to talk to you, too." She stopped, like she as waiting for him to explain. "You first- it seems important." I discreetly stepped closer, straining to hear.

"Allison knows," the redhead bit her lip. "She knows about me and Derek. And then she started asking questions and she seemed really mad and so I told her everything because I thought everything would be okay if she understood everything, but I think it just made everything worse. And I kind of, accidentally, maybe told her about Scott."

"What?" His eyes widened, "You told her about Scott?

"I'm sorry!" she insisted.

Stiles took a deep breath, "It's alright. We can fix this. I mean, it's another complicated problem, but we can figure it out. Everything will work out fine."

"Okay," she smiled, running a hand through her hair. "Okay, what did you want to talk to me about?"

He shoved his hands into his pockets, hunching slightly, biting his lip. "Us."

Marie nodded, "What about us?"

"Are we, you know, together? Or...?"

She opened her mouth and I took the opportunity to slide in beside her, slipping an arm around her shoulders. Stiles glared. I smirked, ignoring him completely:

"Marie, hey, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out sometime?"

"Jackson," she shook me off, stepping away, closer to Stiles, "I was in the middle of a conversation. And Stiles and I are-"

"He told me you two aren't together, so I figured maybe I could try my luck."

She whipped her head around to stare up at him, lips parted. He looked down at her with big brown eyes, chewing on his lip. "Marie," he sighed, "that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about-" But she ignored him, turning back to me and smiling:

"Sure, Jackson, I'd love to go out sometime."

I smirked, nodding, and strolled away, leaning against lockers a certain distance away that allowed me to listen in without looking like I was listening in.

Stiles growled, "What the hell was that?"

"What?" Marie turned to him.

"Why would you go out with him? What about me-?"

She shook her head, tugging on the ends of her hair, "You told him we weren't together!" A pouted pulled her lips down and her big blue eyes looked watery. She stared at him, waiting for an explanation. "Well?"

"What should I have said?"

"I don't know," she sighed, running a hand through her cherry hair. "I just- I thought we were together, but you told him we weren't. But, you know what, let's not do the whole teenage are-we-together fight. It doesn't matter."

I touched her arm when she turned to walked away, "Yes, it does." He sighed. "Look, Marie, I think I might've already said this, or maybe just went through it in my head, because I do that a lot and think I've said or done something when I really haven't. Anyway, I've never met anyone like you and not just because you're a you-know-what. You're...special. And my mind slows down when I'm around you and my heart speeds up and I really freakin' like you."

She smiled, "So we're together?"

He shoved his hand back in his pocket, running the other over his hair: "If you want to be."

She giggled, nodding, and threw her arms around him in a big hug, pressing their lips together. He fumbled for a second before grabbing her and kissing her back. A teacher walked by, grabbing Stiles' shoulder and reprimanding them briefly. They looked properly ashamed until the teacher left and they caught each other's eye, laughing.

I frowned as the bell rang.

Well, Stiles Stilinski: 1; Jackson Whittemore: 0.

* * *

><p>I cornered Scott after lacrosse practice. Watching had made my blood boil. Scott McCall was now team captain because I was suspended from the team. Coach had totally overreacted. But I had sat on the sidelines like a good little boy, watching my teammates, my friends, my rivals, running around.<p>

"So," I shoved Scott against his locker, "have you thought about my offer?"

He looked around as if waiting for someone to save him from the conversation, but everyone was already in the showers. "Jackson, trust me- you don't want this." His eyes were pleading, like he was actually concerned for me.

"Just because you couldn't handle it doesn't mean I won't be able to-"

"I know, I know," Scott growled, "you've said that before. I don't think you understand how horrible this is. All you see are perks- strength, hearing. But you don't see the struggle between two different beings inside one body."

"Stilinski come up with that theory? Marie? Or was it Derek Hale?"

He threw his head back, smacking it against the locker, "Jackson, you don't understand. Every day you have to try and keep it a secret, try not to give yourself away. And you have Hunters trying to kill you and the Alpha killing people and going after the ones you love-"

"It's not too much of a secret," I smirked. "People already know."

He nodded, "Yeah, you, Stiles, Marie, Derek, the Alpha-"

"Allison."

I grinned when his head snapped towards me, fist clenching. "What?" his voice sounded different, an animalistic growl mixed with his usual tones. "What do you mean 'Allison'? You mean she knows?"

"She knows what you are. Sweet Marie let it slip," I shrugged, like it was no big deal. "They're fighting. Allison thinks Marie's some kind of animal now. Come to think of it, she's probably even more disgusted with you." He blinked, breathing heavy. I slapped his shoulder. "But I bet it'll all work out, right?"

I turned and walked out. Messing with Scott was fun, too.

* * *

><p>I watched him storm up to Marie and Stiles, hair still wet. His two friends were sitting on the bleachers, waiting for him. They looked up, Marie's head lifting from Stiles' shoulder. I smirked. "What the hell?" Scott growled, glaring at Marie. "How could you tell Allison?"<p>

"I'm sorry!" she touched his arm, her other hand in Stiles'.

"Sorry? You're sorry?" He pulled out of her grasp. "Allison will hate me now! She'll never want me back! You're so stupid! How could something like that slip out?" He was visibly pissed, anger rolling off him in waves. You could breathe in and smell his anger, like _oh, dude, take a deep breath. Smell that? That's guy's really pissed._

"Stop yelling at her!" Stiles defended, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. "Yelling isn't going to fix anything, Scott! We have bigger problems that your love life."

A hand on my shoulder made me jump and I spun around to face Danny. "Hey," he smiled warily. "You're a bit jumpy today." I looked at him for a moment, amazed that all of this supernatural crap was going on and he was oblivious to it. "Jackson?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry; I didn't get much sleep last night," I tried to smirk at him.

He threw an arm around my shoulders, leading me away from the chaos of our residential werewolves, "well, then, let's go get you hyped up on some super-caffeinated coffee, shall we?"

I allowed him to take me to my car and lead me away, nodding, thinking that I'd done enough damage, stirred up enough trouble for one day

But, hell, I couldn't wait to stir some up again tomorrow.

**This feels short to me, but I don't think it actually is.**

**I really just wanted to show how obsessed Jackson is with Scott and Stiles and their lives because I watch the show like "doesn't he have anything better to do?" **

**Anyway, I'm SUPER-EXCITED for the finale tonight, but also a little sad. That's how I feel about nearing the end of this story, too, because I've grown attached to it and all of you. I don't want it to end, but I love the way we're ending it and I'm excited to see you're reactions.**

**I hope you liked this chapter. It was our first Jackson POV.**

**Reviews are love : )**


	18. Chapter 18

**My dear, wonderful readers-**

**I thought I should let you all know that there are only two more chapters left to go after this. It's all been planned out. The end is near. I feel so terrible, ending the story that I love so much, but- never fear- a prequel will be coming soon after, about Marie's life from before the fire to before coming back to Beacon Hills.**

**We own nothing but Marie (not Marie Elaine Cullen, that's a different Marie).**

**Here we go.**

Peter POV

_"Which one of you did it?" I looked up from my reading, hearing my daughter's shrill voice. "Which one of you did it?" I sighed and stood, marking my page. I stepped into the large living room, frowning at my daughter and the other children. I watched my brother pick my ten-year-old up._

_"What is it, Marie?" he soothed._

_"One of them did it!" she shrieked, showing him a dismembered doll. He tutted, shaking his head. _

_He turned to his children, looking down at them. They stared back, sixteen and fourteen, from where they laid on the carpet. I leaned against the door frame. "What have you done?" he sighed. "Which one of you did it?" _

_Derek looked down at the carpet, picking at a thread. Laura looked at her brother as if waiting for the boy to confess. The fourteen-year-old rolled onto his back, closing his eyes, and sighed: "I did."_

_My brother put Marie back on her feet. I watched her smooth out her princess nightgown. She pouted, looking at her cousin with watery blue eyes: "Why would you be mean to me?" She looked away from him to her doll's body, straightening out it's dress, even though it had no arms, no legs, and no head._

_"Apologize, Derek," my brother ordered softly._

_"I'm sorry," the boy sat up. _

_My brother smiled and took my daughter's hand, "Tomorrow, before the stores close, Derek will take you to get a new doll, okay?" She nodded and he lifted her up. "See? All better. Anyway, I think it's your bed time." He walked over to me. "Say goodnight to your daddy."_

_"Goodnight, Daddy," she leaned out of the cocoon of my brother's arms and kissed my cheek. I nodded, smoothing her dark hair back. He carried her out of the room, up the stairs to her bedroom. _

_The next night, while the two youngest cubs were out, our house burst into flames._

* * *

><p>I walked the dark streets, one foot in front of the other, only the sound of gravel crunching under my shoes breaking the silence. I listened to the heartbeats of the animals around, the heartbeats of the people in their houses.<p>

I rounded the corner and I saw two boys. With one inhale, I could tell at least one of them was intoxicated. I smirked, stepping closer. The one boy, the intoxicated one, he was the boy who Derek had sunk his claws into. That boy knew about us, knew what we were. He wanted to join us. He wanted to be one of us. That boy was weak, a regular bully, but he would be easy to manipulate, easy to control.

"Hello," I smiled, stepping under the street light. "How are you boys tonight?"

"Who's thaaa?" the drunk one asked in what I suppose he thought was a whisper.

"Shh, Jackson," the other one hushed, straightening up, "We're fine, sir. Just on our way home. Up the driveway and in the door." He nodded towards the house behind him. "My mom's expecting us."

Even if his heart hadn't skipped a beat, I would've known he was lying when the drunk one- Jackson -looked at the house and slurred, "You live here, Danny?" He snorted. "Nawww, you don' live here."

"I'll get your friend home, if you'd like," I offered. "I mean, a young boy like you shouldn't have to deal with this. You can give me his address and run along home, call your girlfriend, be ready for school in the morning."

"I, um, don't have a girlfriend to call and I really think I should be the one to take him home, you know, explain to his mom..."

"Don' be so stiff, Dan," Jackson said. "I don' need you to get me home. I'm not too trashed."

I smirked, "Everything will be fine, Danny. I'll be sure he gets home safe."

The boy only tightened his grip on his friend, "I really don't think so."

I allowed my eyes to glow red and the boy stumbled backwards, dragging his heavy-limbed friend along. "I'll take care of him," I growled, grabbing Jackson's arm and throwing it around my shoulders. I swiped at the other boy's head and he collapsed on the ground.

I pulled the tipsy boy along with me, down the road. "Well, Jackson, do you know who I am?"

"No?"

"Do you know who Derek Hale is? Do you know what he is?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he waved his hand. "Damn werewolves. Him and McCall. Damn them. And that damn girl that follows Stilinski around. Damn them, damn, damn, damn them all. They can rot in _hell._"

I sighed, "You know where they are?"

"Hale is nowhere. But little Hale, she's wherever Stilinski is, always. She frickin' loves him so frickin' much. And McCall- ugh, McCall is everywhere! Him and his damn werewolves! And he won't share it with me! Damn him," he spit on the ground.

I smirked, "Share it with you? You want to be a werewolf?"

He snorted, "Of course. Who wouldn't want super strength and speed and hearing and all that freakin' jazz? McCall doesn't even _want_ it! He thinks it's so freakin' hard. But I could handle it. Damn right I could handle it."

"Guess what, Jackson?" I sat him down on the curb, crouching down in front of him.

"What?"

"I've come to answer your prayers," I exhaled. "I can give you a new life- one you could never imagine. I can give you the strength, the skills Scott has."

"Really?"

"Yes; you see, Jackson, I'm the Alpha, the top-dog, and I can make you one of us. Is that what you want?" I put my hands on his knees. He nodded. "Ah, ah, ah, but first, you must promise me that you'll help me, that you'll be a good little Beta, not like Scott, that you'll help with my revenge. You see, Jackson, I lost everyone I ever loved and now there will be revenge. Can you help me with that, Jackson?"

He nodded.

"Good boy," I smirked, leaning down. "Are you ready, Jackson? Are you ready to be powerful, special?"

He nodded.

My eyes went red and my fangs elongated. I grasped his thigh tightly in my hand, claws piercing through the denim, and bit. I bit through denim, through skin, right into his veins. I infected him, wolf growling as it was freed.

He cried out and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. When I was sure he was now blessed with the gift, I pulled away, licking blood from my lips. He pressed his hands to the bite, hissing in pain, "What have you done?"

"What you told me to do," I reasoned. "I've made you like me, made you the way I am." His face was screwed up from the pain and he pulled his lower lip into his mouth, whimpering. I took his face in hand hands none-too-gently and growled. "You be glad I made you what you are."

He nodded in responce.

"Now, Jackson," I smirked, "now that I've made you strong and skilled, you'll listen to me, yes? And help me?" I put my hand on his thigh, on the bite, and he yelped. "Oh, did that hurt? Don't worry- it'll heal by tomorrow night. Jackson, when you can walk, you will go home to your parents. If you find you cannot walk, you will wait here until someone cares enough to find you. You will explain the bite as an animal attack, do you understand?"

No answer, no recognition.

"Now, Jackson," I scolded, "if you don't understand, I might just have to kill you. That's not what you want, is it? Now, tell me, do you understand?"

He nodded, "Yes."

"You'll do exactly as I say?"

"Yes."

"Good boy. When your charming friend Danny asks you about this tomorrow, you'll ask him what he's talking about. You'll convince him that he dreamed it all. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. If you'll excuse me," I stood, brushing off my coat, "I have things to do, people to see." I walked away, down the dark street. My shoes crunching on the gravel and his labored bereathing, his fast heartbeat, were the only sounds. I inhaled deeply and started down another street.

I had another person to visit tonight.

**So, short, but important?**

**Yes, the beginning is a flashback to six years prior. It really had nothing to do with the chapter except Peter remembering why Marie and Derek lived, which was planned the last peaceful night in that home. **

**So, my dears, only two chapters left. What ever will we do?**

**Who's excited for the finale? I am!**

**Even though it's a short chapter, I hope you liked it!**

**Reviews are love : )**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hi, guys.**

**So, the finale was AH-MAY-ZING- my sisters and I loved it. How about you?**

**My dear readers, only one chapter left after this one. I'm not sure if my next Teen Wolf story will be a Prequel or a Sequel, but I'm leaning towards Prequel for reasons you don't know. Tell me which one you guys think I should do, because I really want to do more with this story and this fandom.**

**We own nothing but Marie (not Marie Elaine Cullen, that's a different Marie).**

**Here we go.**

Marie POV

"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own, Marie?" Stiles questioned from the doorway. I smiled at him, rolling my eyes, like _you're silly._

"I'm a werewolf, Stiles, not a porcelain doll," I reminded him. "I can last one night without you boys. I don't need constant supervision."

He nodded, "Right. Well, I'm gonna go grab all the crap we'll 'need' tonight, so, goodnight, I guess..." The brown-eyed boy licked his lips, hunching slightly as he shoved his hands in his pockets, looking as if there was more he wanted to say or do. His eyes flickered to Derek, who was laying on my bed, arm thrown over his eyes. He held up his one arm, three fingers in the air, counting down how many seconds Stiles had.

Stiles leaned in quick, catching my lips and pulling away before I could react. I blushed pink, and I saw his cheeks redden, too, heard his heartbeat pick up. "Say goodnight, Stiles," a voice from behind me ordered and I didn't have to turn around to know that Derek was sitting up and glaring. I smiled apologetically at Stiles.

"Goodnight," he muttered before stepping away from my door.

I walked to my mirror, ignoring the sight of my strawberry milk-pink cheeks, and picked up my brush.

Derek reclined his body on my bed, watching me as I combed my hair, humming to myself. The tune was familiar, a distant memory. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, getting my attention. My cousin sat up, patting the space in front of him. The stoic man smiled, lips twitching, and I sat with my back to him.

He slipped the brush from my hands, pulling it through the damp, red strands, and I closed my eyes as I carried on.

"Hmm, hm, hm, hmmm," I hummed, smoothing a finger over a painted nail. I remembered when Laura and I used to sing and hum that song. "Hmm, hm, hm, hmmm." I took a breath.

_So, this is love..._

_Hmm, hm, hm, hmmm..._

_So, this is love..._

_So, this is what makes life divine._

_I'm all aglow,_

_Hmm, hm, hm, hmmm..._

_and now I know,_

_the key to all heaven is mine._

Derek brushed some of my hair over my let shoulder and the strong scent of my strawberry shampoo invaded my senses.

_My heart has wings,_

_Hmm, hm, hm, hmmm,_

_and I can fly-_

_I can touch every star in the sky..._

_So this is the miracle_

_that I've been dreaming of._

_Hmm, hm, hm, hmmm,_

_hmm, hm, hm, hmmm,_

_so, this is love..._

Derek chuckled as I finished singing.

"What?" I pouted.

"Nothing," he shrugged. And then: "Hmm, hm, hm, hmmm..."

I turned to face him, "Are you making fun of me?" He smirked; I pouted. "You are!"

He rolled his eyes, scoffing, "It's just- really? _So this is love?_ Are you serious? Do you want Stiles to _show you the world, shining, shimmering, splendid_ ? Do you want him to _go on and kiss the girl_? Do you want to _feel the love tonight_? Do you think he wants to be _part of our world_?"

"Stop making fun of me!"

"Marie, you're not in love. You don't know what love is. You're sixteen! You're a child!" he spat. I drew back:

"Why are you being mean to me?"

He sighed, "To get this into your head- you're just going to get hurt. If something happens to you...if he hurts you...Marie, I'm trying to protect you..."

We were silent. I knew he was trying to help me. He just didn't want me hurt. Losing our family had emotionally destroyed him. Knowing that there were people in thsi world that were cruel enough to hurt innocent people on purpose ruined feelings for him.

"Derek," I chewed on my lip, "just because someone hurt us once, doesn't mean everyone will. And just because you're afraid to feel, doesn't I am, too." I ran a hand through my hair. "Someone knows my biggest, most horrible secret, something that would send most people running, and he still wants to be with me."

He nodded.

"And, even if I end up getting hurt, at least I found someone I liked enough to allow them to hurt me. That usually doesn't happen to outcasts like us."

Derek snorted, "Yeah, well, _God help the outcasts_, right?" He looked at me and his lips twitched into a smile. I grinned, nodding. He sighed. "I should go now." His feet touched the floor and my cousin stood, placing his hand on my head. "Sure you'll be alright alone?"

"I'll be fine," I waved off the idea of anything happening. "Just be sure you're alright- remember, you're the only family I have left. And keep Stiles safe, too."

"I promise," he swore as I climbed under my covers. he pulled the blankets up around me and whispered, "If you tell anyone that I could come up with all of those Disney puns, I will lock you away." I giggled:

"Goodnight, Derek."

He shut out the light, "Goodnight."

* * *

><p>I couldn't have been asleep long when I awoke to the sound of someone moving around downstairs. I sat up in bed, whimpering into the dark, "Stiles? Sheriff? Derek?" I climbed out of bed, my bare feet touching the creaky wood floors. I made my way down the stairs warily.<p>

It was dark, pitch black, the moon shining through the window was the only light, casting long shadows around, bouncing in silvery light. "Stiles?" I whispered. There was a sound from the kitchen and I made my way there, licking my lips, hoping it was the Sheriff back early from his shift, or Stiles back from Alpha-hunting.

My toes touched the cold kitchen tile and the lights flickered on. I looked up, blinking to adjust to the sudden flood of light. When my vision returned, my eyes widened. There, standing before me in the simple kitchen was-

"Daddy?"

-the Alpha.

**Oooh, the Alpha's there! What will happen in the last installment?**

**Actually, it's already written, but I think I'll make you wait for it?**

**Sorry for Derek's horrible Disney puns. He was trying to mock her in a way she'd understand. His puns include:**

"**Kiss The Girl" and "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid**

"**A Whole New World" from Aladdin**

"**Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" from The Lion King**

**and "God Help The Outcasts" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame**

**And Marie sang "So This Is Love," from Cinderella, which I had been singing for a straight hour before writing this.**

**I hope you liked this one, even if it's short. (Sorry!)**

**Only one chapter left! **

**Reviews are Love : )**


	20. Chapter 20

**This chapter is for:**

**all of you who have loved and supported Marie,**

**all of you who have treasured and laughed at Stiles,**

**all of you who have pitied and adored Derek,**

**all of you who have had mixed feelings about Kate, Scott, Allison, and Lydia,**

**all of you who have scoffed at Jackson,**

**all of you who have read, subscribed, and reviews,**

**and, especially,**

**all of you who have s****tayed with us until the end.**

Marie POV

Peter laughed, smiling crookedly, and stepped closer.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" he opened his arms. "You haven't seen me in so long and you react like this?" I backed up until I hit the door frame. I shook my head as he came closer, closer, closer. He reached out, curling his finger around a strand of hair. "Princess, you dyed you hair." His breathe fanned across my face.

"Yeah, I did," was all I could think to say.

He tugged on the strand, "And you've helped Scott out a bit? And you've spilled our little secret to the Hunter spawn. And you killed Kate- dear, I'll have to thank you for that, getting that bothersome wench out of the way. And...this Stiles boy...Jackson tells me you're very fond of him. Following him around like a lost puppy, he tells me."

"What did you do to Jackson?" I licked my lips, eyebrows pulling together in concern.

"All in all, Marie," his hand slipped into my hair, turning my head sharply to face him, his eyes glowing red, "you've been a very, _very _naughty little girl."

I braced my hands against his chest and pushed, shoving him away. My fangs elongated, eyes glowed, and my bubblegum pink-lacquered nails sharpened into claws. He growled, but I countered it with one of my own. He lunged; I ducked, slipping out of his reach.

I heard the screech of a car skidding to a stop, the thump of feet hitting the ground. It was more than one person, surely, and then the front door burst open and the floorboards were creaking and I was being shoved backwards as Derek jumped in front of me.

Stiles grabbed me around the waist, pulling me against him, entranced by my fierce, glowing eyes. I heard a snarl and looked up in time to see Peter and Derek lunge for each other, claws swiping, teeth gnashing, skin ripping and healing. He tightened his hold on me and walked backwards, tugging me out of harm's way. "No!" I cried, leaning over the cradle of his arms, reaching for the fight. "No! I want to do it- I want to be the one to finish him!"

"Marie!" he whispered in my ear, hoping to bring me out of the rage he had never seen before. Jackson was at the front door, looking in with wide, frightened eyes. Scott had joined Derek, ripping and biting and growling.

"Let me go!" I struggled. "I want to- I need to-"

He let me go.

I was by my cousin in an instant, jumping right into the fray. I caught my father's throat on my pink-painted claws, pulling, but he was healing as fast as I was hurting him. I didn't remember a battle like this, though I had seen wolves go at each other when I was little. "Oh!" I cried out when Peter's jaw clamped down about my shoulder.

All of sudden, the teeth were gone, the claws and glowing red eyes were gone. I whipped around, following his scent, and saw the Alpha holding Stiles from behind, claws against his throat. I swallowed, lips parting, and stared into the Alpha's blood red eyes.

"Stop this foolishness, all of you," the Alpha growled, "or I'll shred him to pieces here."

Derek crouched, tensed to spring, but I placed my hand on his back and he turned, looking at me. I shook my head, my watery blue eyes meeting his glowing azure orbs. I turned away from my cousin, catching the big doe eyes of my boyfriend. I took a step forward, trying to smile warmly at the Alpha.

"What is it?" he growled.

"Does it have to be this way?" When I received no response, I sighed, pouting. "You're upsetting my plans."

"What plans?" he snarled.

I reached out a hand as if I wanted him to hold it, shoulder healed, "I want things to be like they were." I smiled softly, and then added: "Daddy." That seemed to do it and he shoved Stiles away. The boy fell to the floor, staring up from his position as if everything looked different. The Alpha took my hand and pulled me into a sort of hug:

"We forgive each other, then?"

I placed my hand on his chest, over his heart, feeling the steady beat. "Yes." My nails grew into claws and I did the most horrifying thing I had ever done- I dug my claws through his shirt, through his skin, through his muscle, and my fist clenched around his heart.

He let out a blood-curdling shriek, eyes glowing again, and he swiped his arm in a full arc, claws out. He buried them into my side, but I refused to cry out. I could feel the muscle, his life source, throbbing in my hand, pumping out blood to his body. Derek was beside me in an instant, the second he realized the Alpha was hurting me, and tried to pull me away.

"No, Derek!" I insisted. Just then, a shot rang out and a glass vase shattered. I whipped my head around and saw Mr. Argent wielding a smoking gun. _Could this get any worse_?

And it did. My dark-haired friend stepped in after her father, holding a gun of her own. From the feeling just seeing it gave me, I could tell it was loaded with Wolfsbane bullets. She scanned the room, assessing the situation. Her eyes found the Alpha and she mouthed, _Real rival?_ Something seemed to click and she pointed the gun at him, finger on the trigger.

But more Hunters were rushing through the door and they jostled her just as the gun went off. I felt a horrible, terrible pain in my side, and collapsed to the ground, the Alpha's heart in my palm, ripping it from his body as I fell.

Derek caught me, cradling me against his chest, and I dropped the dead muscle in my hand to the ground. I heard more shots and I looked up to see Mr. Argent standing over the Alpha's body, Wolfsbane bullets sinking into the body. He turned around and looked at me. "Promise you'll get rid of the body?" I stared at him. He nodded.

Stiles was by my side, brushing my hair out of my face. "You don't know how brave you were," he smiled, licking his lips. "I would've been scared shitless."

I laughed and was vaguely aware of Allison standing over us, "I was scared, so scared, but I couldn't let him hurt you." I noticed his worried glance at my side and waved my hand as if to brush his fear away: "Don't worry- I know I'll be okay..."

"Marie," Derek got my attention. I saw a red spark shine in his glowing blue eyes, marking him as the new Alpha, before they faded to their normal green, "I'm gonna make the pain in your side go away before it gets too bad, okay? You'll be fine." He looked at Allison. "Go get me one of those bullets." She scampered away.

"Derek, I told you I was going to be strong enough to finish him, didn't I? And, look, I did it," I grinned. "But I'm surprised he had a heart at all." My cousin snorted and kissed my forehead:

"Me, too." He focused on Scott. "Okay, rookie, you know what to do- you've seen this before. Do it exactly like I did. Stiles, you're going to distract her, okay, because it's gonna hurt like hell, but it'll beat dying."

There was a sharp pain in my side, but Stiles was running his hand through my hair and whispering all these sweet nothings and strange facts and kissing my face, so I tried to pay attention to that instead- it was much, much nicer.

"You'll be fine," Derek assured me.

"I'm so sorry, Marie!" Allison insisted.

"I- I- I didn't- Didn't know- so sorry!" Jackson shook.

"Okay, it's done, what now?" Scott said.

"Don't worry, Marie," Stiles cooed, "these guys know what they're doing. And you'll be all better and I'll take you on a real date and we'll go to prom and I'll show you how much I love you-"

I smiled, taking his hand, intertwining our fingers. Derek took my other bloodied hand. I nodded, "Okay." I closed my eyes.

The choice is yours alone now.

Tell me how the story ends.


End file.
